Have You Seen My Cat?

by Eric Carle

A little boy encounters a variety of cats while looking for his own. A brilliantly colored picture book filled with the collage art that is the hallmark of Eric Carle's universally acclaimed picture books. Paperback.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Animals, Fiction, Storytime, Art

32 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have mentioned this before, but I am not a fan of Eric Carle. He's one of those children's authors that parents seem to just adore, but kids rarely seem that enamored with. I just don't get the love. I don't care for the art and frequently find the images blocky and unappealing. With the exception of his Caterpillar book, I don't see his appeal.

Obviously this is not the case for most people. My daughter just had a birthday, and with people knowing that we are very much a "story time" household, she got several books, including of course, some Eric Carle. Well, I may not like him, but they're not for me, they are for her. I'll still read the books if my daughter wants… and given that like many children, she loves cats, this one was inevitable.

Never in my life have I read a more annoying children's book. One page: "Have you seen my cat?" Next page: "This is not my cat." Repeat without any other words until the final page of the book. No "this is a tiger! This is not my cat!," no other descriptions of the kid's cat… not even an animal noise. Just those two sentences over, and over, and over next to Carle's oh so loved blocky imagery. Look, I get repetition is needed for child development and learning, but really, a bit more would have made it at least a tolerable read.

I really can't think of a single children's book I dislike more than this. The fact that it is on our book shelf actually annoys me. I'll read it, I'll do voices for it, I'll even add animal noise to add a bit of entertainment value for my daughter if she ever for some reason picks this one again, but I despise this book. 1/5 stars

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do get tired of these sort of books, that is not my..... or are you my..... but I expect this was around when this theme was not so overdone. A boy is looking for his cat and passes many cats of the world before he finds his own. It would have been nicer to see a lion in the wild rather than the zoo and at the end the cat has a litter of kittens.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy's cat is missing and he is asking several different people across the world if they have seen his cat. This book shows how many different kinds of cats there are around the world.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love adding voices and sounds for each cat:) I also have the kids help me ask.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Eric Carle book where repetition plays a large role, but I like this one for at least trying to making educational connections between the various large, wild cats of the world and their habitats, though I'm not sure stereotyping wardrobes of the people inhabiting those areas was the best way to go about it.

I was disappointed the regions and cat breeds weren't explicitly named in end notes at least, but my copy is a board book version, and I wonder if the paperback or some other version was able to spare a few pages to amp up the educational aspect.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would’ve enjoyed this book more if the “not my cats” were named. Instead of just, “That’s not my cat” just add “That’s a lion, tiger, panther, etc.”

[Mariana · Rating 1 out of 5]

You have got to be kidding me. In terms of repetition, it's good for very small children and the illustrations are beautiful. But there really isn't any substance in it at all. The fact that the target audience is young, does not mean that you can throw basic story elements out of the picture.

Well... I guess it's the illustrations that really move this story along. So if you have a child that can't read yet, it's wonderful.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

My son picked this one from the library because he recognized the art as being similar to The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I'd say that's pretty observant for a 4 year old. He was excited to read it, so we did. "Let's put this in the bad pile." he said.

[Isabel Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very few people can take a book that basically only has two lines and make it a success. Eric Carle has managed to do this with Have You Seen My Cat?, which features a call and response format throughout the entire book: "Have you seen my cat? This is not my cat." This particular version of the beloved picture is awesome because it has the slide out page feature that not only shortens the book (which is definitely more appropriate for a board book) but also makes it more fun for the reader to see what's coming next. In this book, a little boy has lost his cat and he encounters many, many different types of cats (panther, lion, jaguar, etc.) before finally coming across the one he calls his. The illustrations and variety of feline creatures are a big part of what makes this book stand out. The larger picture book version would be more appropriate for a read aloud session with a group of children, but this slide-and-peek board book version is definitely suitable for one-on-one reading time with your child.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Eric Carle's art. I have a few of his books, so I'm slightly biased.

This book is about a boy trying to find his cat, and people from different parts of the world would show him a feline that is native to the country to see if that's his cat. Example: India would be Tiger, Africa would be Lion. etc.

Henry really liked this as he love anything animals, and we have a book called Animal Tales with 30 different animal sounds (another book I recommend, 4 stars), and some of the cat pictures are the same, so Henry recognized the pictures.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute. I like the repetitiveness. I like the artwork. I like the ridiculousness of all the wild cats he sees. I like how the adults just point. I like that it lead to a discussion with my students on which wild cat is which and how to tell apart a cheetah, leopard, and jaguar. I just had to Google it.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up with Are a you My Mother? I didn’t know of another book in the same vein as Have You Seen My Cat? I love the excitement and the thrill my Kinder child found in the exotic cats on each new page as we tried to label them. I’m glad we found this. We need a copy. We borrowed this from the library.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations in this book.

[Eva María · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gatiitoos

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great story showing different kinds of cats.

[Morgan Gribble · Rating 1 out of 5]

I still don’t know which cat is his

[Jenny Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got "Have You Seen My Cat?" by Eric Carle for my 2 1/2 year old. She loves it, There is a little boy who looks everywhere for his lost cat. There is repetition which she loves,it is very very simple. It was good just as is for a week or so, then we started to add a lot of things to the story because my daughter kept asking "why isn't it his cat" and "what cat is it" and things like that. we read it like this :"This is not my cat it is a ____ cat because it _____" and she loves it, she now is a cat know it all and has amazed people with the facts she knows about different wild cats. we read it EVERYDAY a few times a day. the only reason I took a star away is because of how simple it is and how we have had to add to it to make our daughter happy. The illustrations are awesome and she loves them all. but to most kids I'm sure it would be fine as is.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all ove Eric Carle! This is a must have classroom addition. In this book a little boy is looking for his lost cat. He goes around the world, through different countries, meeting all kinds of people in various cultures. He also meets many types of cats, but they are not his. The illustrations are amazing, children can learn about the types of cats around the world, culture, and communities. Great book!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple text, but I love the illustrations.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't count how many times I've read it with my kids.

[Ashton Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Have You Seen My Cat?

Author: Eric Carle

Illustrator: Eric Carle

Genre: Predictable Book

Theme: Animals, predictability

Opening Line/Sentence: Have you seen my cat?

Brief Book Summary: A little boy lost his cat and is asking people all around the world if they have seen his cat. Each time they point to a type of cat, it ends up not being his cat. At the end of the story, he finally finds his cat and her kittens.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Moira Small (Books for Keeps No. 56, May 1989)
Eric Carle has a happy knack of building curiosity and anticipation into his books so that every stylish, patterned page is looked forward to and enjoyed. This one is no exception: we are immediately caught in a simple yet compelling problem . . . a boy has lost his cat and needs to find it again. Any old cat will not do . . . the boy finds a lion, a panther, a tiger, a cheetah, a bobcat, a puma, a Persian cat and a jaguar before he eventually finds his very own cat, with her kittens. The watching listening child will enjoy looking carefully at each picture and the adult, enjoying the story, will find much to discuss as they go along. Yes, it's useful for categorizing and vocabulary and all that stuff, but it's also terrific fun, whatever your age.

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
Carle must be a cat fancier since he dedicates this book to all the cats in his life. Each thick cardboard page had a pull out slide. A young boy is pictured in each scene and he is hunting for his cat. This search takes him on a trip around the world, and everywhere that he stops, he makes the same inquire of those he meets. Have you seen my cat? They in turn just point to the tab and when it is pulled out a cat is displayed. These are not ordinary cats. There are leopards, cheetahs, tigers, etc. and in each case, the young boy replies This is not my cat. It seems a bit sad, that he cannot locate his cat. However, the final picture points to the back cover and when the covers are spread open, the cat on the cover must belong to the boy and she has disappeared because she apparently just had a litter of kittens.

Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews because this book is repetitive and easy for children to catch on to. The illustrations are spectacular and give insight to different cultures. Children can also learn about different varieties of cats, so it’s educational and fun.

Evaluation of Literary Elements: When the jaguar is shown up in a tree, my attention was focused on it since it seemed like it had so much power being up high. Further in the story, the cheetah is shown running and its legs are bent in a diagonal form, which implies the cheetah is in motion. The backgrounds are white, which draws attention to the characters in the story even more. The light backgrounds also give hope to the reader that the little boy will find his cat eventually.

Consideration of Instructional Application: In my classroom, a mini lesson could be discussing what predictable stories are and why this book counts as a predictable story. After the read aloud, I would have my students learn more about a cat of their choosing from the book. They could go to the library and pick out a book on the cat they choose and then write about their findings. I could connect my lesson to science and geography by teaching my students about different kinds of cats and where they’re found around the world and also about different cultures.

[Ivana]

Otkud to da uopšte čitam slikovnice? Po bespućima interneta pokrenula se neka priča, pominjale su se knjige pogodne za malu decu, pomenuta je i Veoma gladna gusenica, setila sam se da sam planirala da je pročitam jer je to jedna od baš voljenih knjiga za decu, onda vidim da autor ima i takve naslove kao što su Have You Seen My Cat? i The Very Busy Spider, i naravno da hoću da znam đe je mačka i šta je bilo s mačkom i je l’ našao mačku i je l’ sve u redu s mačkom.

Elem, na ovu mačku sam videla dosta gunđanja, i nije da ga ne razumem. Priča je toliko simplifikovana da sam nekoliko puta proveravala kraj, da li je to stvarno to ili je neko krnjavo izdanje. Međutim, ova knjiga nije pisana za mene koja se bližim pedesetoj, nego za malu decu, i nije mi teško da zamislim dete od dve ili dve i po godine kako uživa u lepim ilustracijama i jednostavnoj priči i mica-macama (naravno, dete koje sedi uz odraslog ko mu čita knjigu, i zajedno gledaju ilustracije).

Koliko će vam se svideti ilustracije je, naravno, stvar ukusa. Meni su divne, a divno mi je i što priču delom pričaju ilustracije, ne kaže vam se sve u tekstu.

A tekst? A priča? Priča je o dečaku koji traži svoju nestalu mačku, pa tako na svakoj strani imate to dete koje nekog odraslog pita Have you seen my cat?, odrasli mu pokazuje, i na sledećoj strani imate dotičnu mačku i razočarani odgovor deteta This is not my cat. I savršeno vam je jasno zašto te mačke nikako ne mogu da budu mačka tog deteta, jer gledamo u lava u kavezu, tigra u Indiji, jaguara u Južnoj Americi, u Persiji vidi persijsku mačku na persijskom tepihu ali to i dalje nije njegova mačka… I proputuje dete tako ceo svet dok na kraju ne nađe svoju mačku (a i iznenađenje koje možete odmah da pogodite).

I sve je mnogo slatko.

Sad, detetu od dve ili dve i po godine to bi moglo da bude dovoljno zanimljivo po sebi. Gde je maca? Gde je maca? Tražimo macu! Već bi detetu od četiri godine moglo da bude potrebno više, a knjiga pruža i više, uz učešće roditelja, jer može da kaže detetu kako se koja vrsta divlje mačke zove, gde živi, kako se zovu narodi u tim zemljama i kako žive, mogu da pogledaju enciklopedije i atlase i vide i slike na internetu… A i po svoj prilici ćete detetu morati da odgovorite na gomilu pitanja, jer deca zapitkuju.

S obzirom na to da nije ni blizu toliko popularna kao Veoma gladna gusenica, sumnjam da će ova knjiga biti prevedena kod nas. Šteta, mnogo je slatko.

Mace.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: Have You Seen my Cat?
Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle (Author and Illustrator)

Reading Level: LG
Book Level: 2.8

Summary: The text follows a little boy as he searches for his cat, encountering a wide variety of other cats, large and small.

Bookshelf Mentor Writing Trait(s):
Voice: The way in which this book is written creates a specific voice that is present throughout. The little boy asks different people if they have seen his cat, and then states that it is not his cat. Throughout the book, the audience is left to create their own responses from those people who the little boy talked to. The purpose is clearly conveyed in the boy’s questions, as well as his answers, as he is looking for his cat and in all instances but the last, the cat in question is not his. While the illustrations do a fantastic job depicting the boy’s ever-growing frustration in not being able to locate his cat, the text does so as well.
Conventions: This book consists of several short, well-punctuated sentences. By creating a story combining pictures and only a few well-punctuated and well-formulated sentences, the importance of sentence structure and punctuation are illuminated. It also allows the audience to contemplate how punctuation plays a role in how sentences are spoken.

Other suggestions:
I believe that this would make an excellent example of how to teach students clear and concise writing, as the text is to the point, yet it conveys an unmistakable message to the audience.

[Erin Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have You Seen My Cat? By Eric Carle is about a little boy who loses his cat and goes around asking all different kinds of people if they have seen it. I was not a fan of this book because it was too repetitive with no good storyline or lesson behind it. Although I did not enjoy reading this book, I can see how children would like it because of the child engagement and artistic elements. By asking all different kinds of people with different kinds of cats where his cat was, children may find that humorous and can interact with the book by guessing where the cat went. This book also has very interesting and unique illustrations to it which are very different from other books that I have seen. The illustrator made the animals using different shapes, but also made them look quirky because they are not perfect and look different than a typical illustration of a cat.To make the fur on the cat he also used a varied mix of lines and patterns making the animals look very uncommon, yet remarkable. This book would be best used at a preschool level so that the children can look at the pictures and listen to a simple story that they would find amusing.

[Evianrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book because my husband is a big fan of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and I thought my 2 month old son who enjoyed that book would enjoy more Eric Carle books! I'm biased as a cat lover so I had to get this one.

The visuals are awesome, my son loves them, and the sliding panels are super neat and interested him. I do worry though that over time this mechanism in the book will wear down.

Rated lower only because the story is incredibly repetitive (I know it is only a children's book) but it is the same two lines for all the pages. This is more of a picture book if you plan to get it than a story.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, Eric Carle, this was not it. There is nothing to this book - just the same line over and over and some illustrations of various types of cats, with no explanations. Also, the stereotypical images of the different people pictured are not ideal for audiences of today. I put this on hold after it was mentioned in Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult. Although I don't remember for sure, I'm pretty certain that Handy also was not a fan of this book.

[John Mullarkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic by Eric Carle that is a fun book to read aloud to a young audience as it encourages participation and has repetition. The collages, of course, or bright and colorful and very kid-friendly. The plot itself is basic and simple - a boy is looking for his missing cat, asking several groups of people from varied cultures, “Have you seen my cat?”. The book shows the different types of cats that are seen around the world. It is similar to some of his other books, but as always the art of Eric Carle is timeless!

[Lee Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, look, I know this is a book for kids who can barely even read yet. But it had me at "Eric Carle" + "cat."

It opens with a dedication "to all the cats in my life," for Pete's sake -- of COURSE I'm going to love this book.

It's a simple story of a boy looking for his missing cat. He goes around the world asking diverse people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures if they've seen his cat. They point him to a wide variety of cats -- including bobcats and lions! -- but none of them have seen his cat.

Eric Carle is a classic. I remember reading his books as a child, and the artwork is still so fun to look at as an adult.

5/5 stars. Adding this to my list of books for my own future child(ren).

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a collage artist and was given this book by a friend who did paper cutting. I pulled it out again recently because I've been playing around with tissue paper and more basic building shapes from random papers, and wow, this art. Every time I look at this art it gets better. Some of the choices the author made around racial representations are less than ideal, which is why four stars and not five. The art is unbeatable, though.

[Melinda Wingate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I had never read this Eric Carle book! It is adorable. The boy lost his cat and travels the world looking for it. He meets people from many different cultures and they all show him cats that are native to where they live, but none of them are his cat! I loved the global search and the variety of cats, big and small. This book DOES have a happy ending, which makes me very glad. I think kids and cat lovers everywhere will enjoy this book! Don't sleep on this classic picture book!