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My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes
Cats from many different countries may like to do all kinds of strange and exotic things like fly aeroplanes, or sing and dance, or even play the violin - but my cat, an ordinary round-the-house cat, likes to hide in boxes . . .
Very young children will love joining in with this fun rhyming story that is also just right for beginner readers. The lively illustrations by Hairy Maclary creator Lynley Dodd are sure to appeal to cat lovers of all ages.
Very young children will love joining in with this fun rhyming story that is also just right for beginner readers. The lively illustrations by Hairy Maclary creator Lynley Dodd are sure to appeal to cat lovers of all ages.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
11 people are currently reading
586 people want to read
About the author
Eve Sutton
14 books6 followersEvelyn Mary Sutton (née Breakell) (14 September 1906 to 19 December 1992), commonly known as Eve Sutton, was a New Zealand writer of literature for children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
November 13, 2015
Don't mind me, this is for my cat.
So. This book told me that "the cat from France liked to sing and dance".
See? Here.
When I talked to you about this talent you're supposed to share with your fellow French cats -
Oh, yes. You did that. Just FLEE. Because that's how we resolve problems. Just wonderful.
Go hide in a box, you.
PS. It's rare to find a children book that puts me to sleep, but this one will do. Alright, it's got rhymes and ... cats in boxes, but that's about all.
So. This book told me that "the cat from France liked to sing and dance".
See? Here.
When I talked to you about this talent you're supposed to share with your fellow French cats -
Oh, yes. You did that. Just FLEE. Because that's how we resolve problems. Just wonderful.
Go hide in a box, you.
PS. It's rare to find a children book that puts me to sleep, but this one will do. Alright, it's got rhymes and ... cats in boxes, but that's about all.
March 15, 2016
Lots of friends know how much I love to read, but this is not quite so for master Indy (almost 4, the little rascal). But!! He loves it, who hoo! I'm including this book as part of my story time assessment for my Diploma, and if my experience here at home is anything to go by, I might do well! Hey, as my friends know, I'm not shy to put on my best performance so fingers crossed.
Thanks to my uber cool librarian, Andrew, for chatting to me so freely the other day at my busy local library. Maybe one day I'll be able to pass on awesome advice while working in one too.
Great book, fun rhymes, but best of all - simple, fun and easily engaging for those impressionable 3 year olds. What's not to love?
Thanks to my uber cool librarian, Andrew, for chatting to me so freely the other day at my busy local library. Maybe one day I'll be able to pass on awesome advice while working in one too.
Great book, fun rhymes, but best of all - simple, fun and easily engaging for those impressionable 3 year olds. What's not to love?
April 12, 2015
Of course it's not BAD -- it's got cats in boxes! Kinda weak, though. Cat-in-boxes could be so much more! A semi-random collection of photos and drawings of cats in boxes would have more interesting, in fact. I didn't really get the point of the anthropomorphized cats from foreign countries doing ethnic-stereotype things.
Look, a cat in a box!
Post a picture of your cat in a box in the comments and we'll make our own book.
Look, a cat in a box!
Post a picture of your cat in a box in the comments and we'll make our own book.
April 28, 2020
😻
The cat from Japan
Waved a big blue fan.
The cat from Berlin
Played the violin.
The cat from Brazil
Caught a very bad chill.
The cat from Greece
Joined the police.
The cat from Norway
Got stuck in the doorway.
The cat from Spain
Flew a aeroplane.
The cat from France
Liked to sing and dance.
BUT MY CAT LIKES TO HIDE IN BOXES.
😻
The cat from Japan
Waved a big blue fan.
The cat from Berlin
Played the violin.
The cat from Brazil
Caught a very bad chill.
The cat from Greece
Joined the police.
The cat from Norway
Got stuck in the doorway.
The cat from Spain
Flew a aeroplane.
The cat from France
Liked to sing and dance.
BUT MY CAT LIKES TO HIDE IN BOXES.
😻
September 22, 2014
"My cat likes to hide in boxes" is one of my 3-year-old’s favourite books. My daughter knows the words too thanks to the rhyming in the book. She can look at the pictures to remind her of the appropriate part of the story and pretend to read it on her own after we finish.
The story sees many cats from lots of different countries doing amazing things and these are juxtaposed each time with the narrator's cat who only likes to hide in boxes. Each cat is illustrated in colour on a full page to accompany the text on the opposite page.
A great book with nice colourful, big pictures ideal for young listeners and pretend readers.
The story sees many cats from lots of different countries doing amazing things and these are juxtaposed each time with the narrator's cat who only likes to hide in boxes. Each cat is illustrated in colour on a full page to accompany the text on the opposite page.
A great book with nice colourful, big pictures ideal for young listeners and pretend readers.
February 19, 2024
My cat does in fact like to hide in boxes. This is not only an accurate portrayal of cat behaviour, but a great introduction to some world geography, and a lovely repetitive, rhyming story. We love it.
June 26, 2012
A very funny and entertaining book about what an ordinary house cat likes to do and what strange and funny things cats from other countries like to do. The book has very simple rhymes like “The cat from France likes to sing and dance, the cat from Greece joined the police” these are repeated throughout the book. Each page has an amusing image of a cat wearing traditional clothes from their country (or stereotypically from their country). The line that is repeated the most in the book is “but my cat likes to hide in boxes” with an image of the house cat in a different box. It’s a great book to read aloud to children, they immediately pick up on the repetition and join in reading the story. To really get the children involved I got them to act out the actions each cat does in the book.
September 21, 2016
This was my favourite picture book when I was little.
July 26, 2025
Franz Kafka famously wrote, ‘A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.’
this is it. this is the book.
Eve Sutton wields kafka’s axe with considerable force
this is it. this is the book.
Eve Sutton wields kafka’s axe with considerable force
February 27, 2014
I always wonder what happened to Eve Sutton, I don’t think she wrote any other children’s books. Lynley Dodd of course went on to create the fantastic Hairy Maclary series plus many more. But this is still my favourite of her books. The Cat from France may well like to sing and dance but MY cat likes to hide in boxes, and that’s just fine with me.
January 7, 2023
This Book is a Must-Own for budding Cat-Lovers.
August 1, 2022
4,5 stars - English Ebook
My granfchildren loved this book, but we only had one copy, so now that they want it for their own children I have been looking for used copies. This Ebook is a solution!
It's a rhyming story about cat's from different countries, always coming back to the cat that like to hide in boxes!
My granfchildren loved this book, but we only had one copy, so now that they want it for their own children I have been looking for used copies. This Ebook is a solution!
It's a rhyming story about cat's from different countries, always coming back to the cat that like to hide in boxes!
January 2, 2021
A classic.
January 16, 2021
This book was AMAZING!! All those cats did so many silly things. My favourite cat was the one that hid in boxes. 10/10 would read again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2022
A favorite for over 45 years!
September 18, 2025
This is a very simple and short story. As an English teacher I would use this story with beginners.
February 6, 2018
I can't remember a time before I knew of this book, and to this day I'll chime in "...But my cat likes to hide in boxes!" whenever it's applicable.
Also, my cat DOES like to hide in boxes, so it's often applicable:
Also, my cat DOES like to hide in boxes, so it's often applicable:
July 26, 2016
(From my blog: Quill Café)
In accordance with the FTC, I would like to disclose that I purchased this book. The opinions expressed are mine and no monetary compensation was offered to me by the author or publisher.
The cat from Spain flew an aeroplane, the cat from France liked to sing and dance...
Cats are internationally renowned creatures, with assorted traits and talents. Yet, above all, there is one allure that brings out the playfulness in every house cat: a simple box.
'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' is one of my absolute childhood favourites. It introduces cats from all over the world – fancy felines from France and suave cats from Spain – but all are eclipsed by the narrator's cat who likes to hide in boxes.
Sutton's writing utilises rhyme and repetition, with a wonderful rhythmic quality and witty flair. She introduces extravagant characters, while not falling into the trap of representing any negative stereotypes. Each cat is wonderful in its own way, but the ultimate line – the title of the book – is the real gem.
Lynley Dodd beautifully illustrates the book with a softer pallet for the cats and more solid colours for the backgrounds. The personalities of each cat are wonderfully captured, and the illustrations are imaginative, funny, and sweet. My particular favourite is of the cat in the hat box.
'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' is an excellent book for cat lovers of all ages. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
In accordance with the FTC, I would like to disclose that I purchased this book. The opinions expressed are mine and no monetary compensation was offered to me by the author or publisher.
The cat from Spain flew an aeroplane, the cat from France liked to sing and dance...
Cats are internationally renowned creatures, with assorted traits and talents. Yet, above all, there is one allure that brings out the playfulness in every house cat: a simple box.
'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' is one of my absolute childhood favourites. It introduces cats from all over the world – fancy felines from France and suave cats from Spain – but all are eclipsed by the narrator's cat who likes to hide in boxes.
Sutton's writing utilises rhyme and repetition, with a wonderful rhythmic quality and witty flair. She introduces extravagant characters, while not falling into the trap of representing any negative stereotypes. Each cat is wonderful in its own way, but the ultimate line – the title of the book – is the real gem.
Lynley Dodd beautifully illustrates the book with a softer pallet for the cats and more solid colours for the backgrounds. The personalities of each cat are wonderfully captured, and the illustrations are imaginative, funny, and sweet. My particular favourite is of the cat in the hat box.
'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' is an excellent book for cat lovers of all ages. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
November 6, 2015
My teacher read this to our class in year two and then we performed it as a kind of play, each child dressed up as one of the cats. A fun way to introduce us to the basic elements of other cultures haha. Great fun. Loved it.
November 25, 2011
I enjoyed this because of the simple rhymes and the repetition. Isaac's response was a little more polite and restrained. It's given me some good fodder for talking to him about our own cat, though.
February 23, 2014
This is one of my favourite books and brings back many memories of having this read to me by my late Nana. This book also introduced me to many countries for the first time.
November 21, 2014
Childhood favorite! Very hard to find!
February 28, 2015
My son LOOOOOVES cats. So this book was the purrfect book for him. Simple rhymes that were easy to follow. He thought the book was cool and awesome.
February 22, 2018
This book is about a cat who likes to hide in boxes. Readers do not get an insight on who is narrating the story, but we do not know that they own the cat. The narrator goes on to tell the readers about all the cool things that cats across the world are doing. For example, the cat from France likes to sing and dance! After the readers are told about the cats across the world, they are reminded that the narrators cat likes to hide in boxes.
The cat in the story is a humor cat. This is shown through the pictures. The illustrations in this piece are surrealism and folk art. A cat cannot play the violin so therefore it is imaginative or surreal. The images also are very flat, and lack dimension. This is a quality of folk art. These two qualities of art work very well together in this piece to make the reader know that this really doesn’t happen. It makes them laugh though to see the possibilities that the cats are making for themselves. The title of this book caught my eye and I was not disappointed reading this book. I like this book because of the repetition, silliness, and uniqueness.
The cat in the story is a humor cat. This is shown through the pictures. The illustrations in this piece are surrealism and folk art. A cat cannot play the violin so therefore it is imaginative or surreal. The images also are very flat, and lack dimension. This is a quality of folk art. These two qualities of art work very well together in this piece to make the reader know that this really doesn’t happen. It makes them laugh though to see the possibilities that the cats are making for themselves. The title of this book caught my eye and I was not disappointed reading this book. I like this book because of the repetition, silliness, and uniqueness.
Read
November 23, 2021My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is a children’s rhyming book by Eve Sutton and Illustrated by Lynley Dodd. The story is presented with poems about lots of cats from various countries along with a cat who just hides in a box. The writing is mostly rhyme and repetition, with wonderful rhythmic quality and wittiness in dialogue. There are fun rhymes with each cat introduced such as “The cat from Norway got stuck in a doorway” and “The cat from Spain flew into an airplane”. Each illustration has a cat wearing traditional clothes from their country and doing objects like playing the violin and waving the fan. I’d probably teach this book to pre-K-1st grade students as they can enjoy a simple cat book while learning about other countries and rhyming words. I give the book a 4.5 for its simplistic rhyming while showing cute drawings of cats from around the world doing various tasks.
June 11, 2024
This book needs no introduction! There is not a child in New Zealand who hasn't read this story multiple times.
The classic picture book about an ordinary cat who prefers to hide in boxes is compared to 'fancy' cats worldwide. The rhyming verse flows off the tongue and stays in the memory.
Read the full review with photos here:
https://livingpublications.wixsite.co...
The classic picture book about an ordinary cat who prefers to hide in boxes is compared to 'fancy' cats worldwide. The rhyming verse flows off the tongue and stays in the memory.
Read the full review with photos here:
https://livingpublications.wixsite.co...
December 30, 2018
A classic New Zealand story illustrated by Lynley Dodd from the Hairy McClary books.
The story is a poem about how the readers cat likes to hide in boxes. A fun book to share with classes as the kids can join in the repeating sentences. And a great shared story that can inspire artwork about family cat pets and other worldly cats since even zoo large cats seem to love boxes too.
The story is a poem about how the readers cat likes to hide in boxes. A fun book to share with classes as the kids can join in the repeating sentences. And a great shared story that can inspire artwork about family cat pets and other worldly cats since even zoo large cats seem to love boxes too.
September 17, 2021
Quirky little cumulative rhyme; and a cat who hides in a variety of different boxes. Illustrations by Lynley Dodd of the Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy books.
November 21, 2019
This book is an amazing book for rhyming and also for sequencing. This book can teach children about rhyming words and sequencing. Also if any children has a cat then they can talk about what their cats do and if their cat likes to hid in boxes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews