Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Stack the Cats

Rate this book
Award-winning illustrator Susie Ghahremani’s picture book Stack the Cats is a fun way for children to learn how to count.

One cat sleeps. Two cats play. Three cats stack!

Cats of all shapes and sizes scamper, stretch, and yawn across the pages of this adorable counting book. And every now and then, they find themselves in the purrfect fluffy stack!

“Counting from one to 10 is the usual math activity in simple picture books, but this one takes on other mathematical operations, too . . . Thanks to its gentle inconsistencies, this is a book that can expand children’s thought processes.” — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

“Crisp, bold illustrations to introduce simple math concepts that go beyond the usual counting fare for the very young . . . A simple yet clever lesson that there’s more than one way to stack some cats. Ideal for one-on-one and small group sharing.” — School Library Journal

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

7 people are currently reading
479 people want to read

About the author

Susie Ghahremani

26 books211 followers
Susie Ghahremani is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Susie independently designs a whimsically illustrated stationery and gift brand titled Boygirlparty®, one of Etsy's most popular shops.

Her debut as author-illustrator -- STACK THE CATS -- was named Best Book of the Year by both Kirkus and Amazon! A Kirkus starred review declared it "a book that can expand children's thought processes." ALA Booklist says her new book is -- BALANCE THE BIRDS -- "a sophisticated mathematical concept... made easily and enjoyably understandable."

Susie’s newest picture book will be the first to touch on her Iranian heritage: MEMORY GARDEN, written by her mother Zohreh (Godwin Books/Macmillan, 2024) is a multigenerational tale that uses a girl’s adventures in the garden with her grandmother to paint a larger picture of immigration and change.

Her illustrations have been commissioned by the New York Times, Target, Bank of America, and Martha Stewart, to name a few. She is the illustrator of the highly acclaimed nature book series I LOVE DIRT and picture books WHAT WILL HATCH and WHAT WILL GROW, written by Jennifer Ward, celebrated with starred reviews from the School Library Journal and Publisher's Weekly. She also illustrated SHE WANTED TO BE HAUNTED by Marcus Ewert, and was commissioned by the Yosemite Conservancy to illustrate a childlike John Muir for two books set to his own words, LITTLE MUIR'S SONG and LITTLE MUIR'S NIGHT. She also creates guided journals, notecards, and gift items including GROWTH: A Journal to Welcome Personal Change (Roost Books).

She has received art awards from the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, American Illustration, the Alternative Pick, Giant Robot, and was selected as a featured artist and mentorship award winner at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Originally from Chicago, Susie lives in San Diego, California with her husband and zillions of pets. Visit her online at boygirlparty.com

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
569 (31%)
4 stars
701 (38%)
3 stars
450 (24%)
2 stars
94 (5%)
1 star
14 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
Profile Image for Becky.
920 reviews6 followers
May 19, 2017
The illustrations are SUPER CUTE, but I needed this to either commit more to being a counting book with equations for everything or commit to saying 'screw the math' and just be an amusing picture book that happened to include mathematical concepts. At the end of the day, kids probably won't care... but as a librarian, I wanted more focus.
Profile Image for La Coccinelle.
2,259 reviews3,568 followers
November 5, 2018
This book delivers exactly what the synopsis promises. It's a counting book, but it also teaches basic addition and subtraction, all with cute, cartoonish cats that... well, act like cats.

I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did, but I can see it being a great book for little kids who are learning to count and add simple numbers. It's a fun way to explain the concepts of more and fewer, and it doesn't hurt that the cats themselves are pretty cute.

Quotable moment:

Stack the Cats
Profile Image for Cheryl.
12.8k reviews482 followers
August 29, 2024
Oh wow this is fun. *Very* simple as there's no real story, no depth to the characters; it would make an excellent board book. *But* it's more than just counting to ten! It's 3+3=6, and even 10-1-2-2-2=3! (Of course, you wouldn't inflict that lesson on your child, but, rather, let them pick it up by just enjoying the book lots of times.)
Profile Image for Lilly.
482 reviews161 followers
January 11, 2017
A vibrant and entertaining book about a group of playful cats. If as an *adult* I appreciated this so much, I can only imagine what kids will think. The colors are eye-catching and Ghahremani's signature Boygirlparty cats show their personalities as they get up to trouble and teach little readers how to count up and down. I'm already planning who to gift copies of this to!
Profile Image for Patty.
175 reviews7 followers
May 2, 2017
This is a good primer for future cat ladies and mens. Learn their preferred ways of stacking and sleeping, also great for counting.

The artwork was adorable.
Profile Image for Amy!.
2,261 reviews49 followers
May 21, 2017
I would like to stack the cats, thank you.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,278 reviews277 followers
May 20, 2020
An introduction to counting and addition with cutesy cats and simple, energetic language. I could easily have read this over and over to my daughter when she was a toddler.

The electronic version had unfortunate divisions in the art for two-page spreads; they would look so much better in a physical book.
1 review1 follower
May 6, 2017
Finally! An intelligent kid's book with brilliant illustrations that parents will want to read. Love it!
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,930 reviews256 followers
September 8, 2019
Author/illustrator Susie Ghahremani delivers an amusing feline counting book in Stack the Cats, which opens with one cat sleeping, two cats playing, and three cats (you guessed it) stacking. The readers follows along as the narrative builds to ten cats, laying out what each group of fluffy felines gets up to...

As a cat-lover with a weakness for whimsical feline fluff (of both the biological and bibliographic sort), I knew before I picked up Stack the Cats that I would find it amusing, and I was not disappointed. The artwork is cute, the premise entertaining, and the overall effect of the book quite appealing. Recommended to young cat lovers, and to anyone looking for fun counting books with a quirky sense of humor.
Profile Image for Mehsi.
15k reviews448 followers
May 10, 2022
Cute! Fun! Sweet! Bit chaotic, but still had fun reading it! Thanks to my hubby for giving me this one~
In this book we meet cats! White cats, fluffy cats, calico cats, every kind of cat! And we see the things the cats are doing in a fun counting rhyme. And we aren't just counting from 1 to 10, we are also doing sums. Like 3 + 3 + 3 stacks of cats = 9! I had tons of fun reading this one, though as I said, it was a bit chaotic and I can imagine that kids may get a bit confused nearer to the end.
Profile Image for Elisabeth.
280 reviews
June 27, 2019
What a lovely way to teach math concepts beyond just counting and addition. Here you also have the beginnings of sets, multiplication, and the spatial application of numbers. Perfect for a visual-spatial learner. Brilliant.
Profile Image for Jon.
Author 3 books17 followers
May 3, 2017
A winner from Boygirlparty, I love Susie's art and sense of humor and the winning combo of cats + math is both timeless and hilarious!
Profile Image for Garrett.
583 reviews9 followers
January 12, 2018
A good book for counting! If I had to give you three reasons you should read this book they would be because it's fun and because it's wacky.
Profile Image for San Diego Book Review.
392 reviews29 followers
August 2, 2017
Reviewed by Mary Langer Thompson for San Diego Book Review

Although ten cats are too numerous, there are ways to stack them! In this clever book,"Stack the Cats," words and pictures by talented author and artist Susie Ghahremani show cats playing and sleeping and piled into a stack.

You can read this entire review and others like it at San Diego Book Review.
Profile Image for Bridgette.
1 review1 follower
May 9, 2017
Could this book be any more awesome?! I don't think so. Adorable illustrations, amazing really and such a great read. My son loves it. Highly recommend Stack the Cats! I will be buying a few copies for friends of mine too. Unique and wonderful!
Profile Image for Rebecca Ann.
2,887 reviews
May 25, 2017
Ermerger, I love this book. it is a great way to practice counting and stacking with toddlers and is also hilarious. I am definitely using it in storytime.
Profile Image for Jenny.
50 reviews2 followers
June 16, 2017
Great book! Did you know that cats like to be stacked in sets of three?
Profile Image for anna b.
289 reviews21 followers
August 14, 2024
on the resort cart at Gold Info

absolutely superb
Profile Image for Lacey Louwagie.
Author 7 books68 followers
March 21, 2018
BEST COUNTING BOOK EVER. Super cute illustrations and short enough text to hold my eight- month's old attention. Would have preferred a board book version, though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.