If You See a Kitten

by John Butler

If you see a cuddly kitten, say ahhh! If you see a dozing dormouse, say shhh! But what if you see a spooky spider…or a cranky crocodile?
From a pretty peacock (oooh!) to some slimy slugs (yuck!), this simple, interactive look at various animals and the reactions they evoke will coax giggles and spirited responses from young children as they follow along.
From acclaimed author-illustrator John Butler, If You See a Kitten is the perfect read-aloud book young children will want to hear again and again.

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

24 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

writer and illustrator - lives in Kent, South East England.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sure, let's tell kids how they're supposed to feel, because some animals are innately better than others.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: If you see a cuddly kitten...say, "Ahhh!" If you see a pudgy pig...say, "Peee-ew!" If you see a dozing dormouse...say, "Shhh!" If you see some slimy slugs...say, "Yuck!" If you see a pretty peacock...say, "Oooh!"

Premise/plot: John Butler's If You See A Kitten introduces animals and emotions to the very young. I suppose that is as good a premise as I can do.

My thoughts: I'll start with what I love: I REALLY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the kitten illustrations on the cover, the title page, and the second spread. Actually, the illustrations are far preferable to the text. I really enjoyed how realistic most of them were. In particular the kitten, the pig, the elephant, and the alligator.

What I liked: I think that parents or teachers could take the basic pattern of this one and have children write and draw their own books.

If you see a kitten....
If you see a puppy....
If you see a friend....
If you see a rainbow....
If you see a cookie...

What I didn't quite love: I wasn't sure why the author wanted little ones to react in specific ways to the animals. I, for one, thought the pig was nearly as adorable as the kitten. Of all the animals presented, only four had positive reactions modeled: the kitten, the dormouse, the peacock, and the elephant.

Text: 2 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so disappointed in this book. I thought it was going to be adorable, but once I passed the kitten pages I got sad. It's not a sad book, but it teaches children to be afraid of things or be disgusted by things instead of the child forming its own opinion about it. It was published in 2002 so it's not THAT long ago and I'm very disappointed.

It calls a pudgy pig smelly ("Peee-ew!") which is just offensive to pigs and the illustration. I think pigs are adorable and the illustration of the pig was for sure adorable. I know some people think pigs are gross or whatever, but this is just uncalled for. A lot of animals smell.

It calls slimy slugs "Yuck". Granted, I do think they are kind of gross, but I also find them very interesting on how they walk and their eyes are pretty cool. Plus, some people think slugs are the coolest things on the planet.

It calls a spider spooky and says you should say "Eeek!" when you see one which basically tells children to be afraid of it. Yes, more people don't like spiders and are actually scared of them, but why would you tell children to be afraid of it? Let them make their own decision about it. Plus, the spider illustration was the cutest spider I've seen and I don't even like spiders.

The illustrators are the only things I liked in this book.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the pictures in the book was very cute for a young age but I was not too interested in the overall concept of the book. The book just showed children how to react in certain situations but it also showed them to be afraid of things which they should be showed not to be. I think it would be good to start from a young stage to teach children to not to be scared of things and face theirs fears but also teach them it is okay to be scared also. I supposed their might be a few ways of using this book in a classroom but this wouldn't be a go to book for me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite when Hugh was little and it has been a favorite of CC's since she was tiny, too. The text is decidedly simple- "If you see a kitten...say 'Ahh!" or "If you see a spooky spider...say 'Eek!" But that's why my kids always loved it- they love to 'read' it themselves or do call and response. The illustrations are beautiful, too.

[Maeghan Nutmeg Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable. Definitely some bias from the author in this one. I felt bad for the slugs (although that probably stems from my recent read of Slugs by David Greenberg) and the cute snake.

Got this off the shelf after seeing it on a recommended reading list for toddler storytimes. I don't think I'll use it.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

It says on the back of this book that the author, John Butler, is a "top wildlife artist". And I believe it. The illustrations are very well done. Not much thought was put into the educational intent of the book, though.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should anyone make up his own mind about a new experience? No! Here's how you should react - no independent thought necessary! Just use our prejudicial responses and you'll fall right in line with the stereotypes!

[Ruth Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute illustrations, of course, but....
If you see a pudgy pig...
say, "Peee-
ew!"
The young pig looks forlorn. I don't think I would say this to the piglet.

Not a favorite John Butler book of mine.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would be better if all reactions were positive.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures are cute but I don't like how it basically told kids what to think of all the creatures in the book.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book. The short, simple text and repeated pattern is very accessible. I think it fell into some over-simplification in the reactions it's asking the readers to have. Pigs, snakes, slugs, and spiders are obviously animals we should be scared or grossed out by, and this leans heavily into that assumption. Not everything has to be sunshine and rainbows, but these animals are all cool in their own way, and I think this could be modified to emphasize an interesting aspect of each animal instead of reinforcing disgust or fear.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have a John Butler book about baby animals that Elliot was obsessed with as a baby, so when I saw other books by him at the library, I checked them all out. This is a fun one with beautifully realistic baby animals illustrated with such skill. It encourages toddlers to participate and read along with the different explanations. For example: If you see a pudgy pig, say “Pee-ew” (Elliot loves that page).


* library book. Read at 22 months

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is beautiful and realistic! It's nice and simple for babies. My only complaint is that he says slugs are yucky and in fact a lot of the animals in the book have negative things said about them.

[Taylor Kundel-Gower · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love these soft illustrations and it started off really promising, but I'm not a huge fan of teaching kids to be so afraid of spiders and snakes or to think of snails and pigs as gross. Snails and pigs are great! Share the love.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picturebook is solid gold at toddler storytime. I love that it plays with familiar animals but instead of having kids make the same sound they make reaction sounds (ahhh for a kitten, yikes for a snake etc).

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains beautiful illustrations and descriptive alliterations. When read with a young child, the vocal use of the exclamations will entertain them. The visual clues encourage young readers to predict what will be said next.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for very young children.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute, but... it reinforces ideas of good and bad or cute and gross animals. I don't really like that part. But it encourages readers to make fun noises, so I think kids will like that.

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like the message. Judgy.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, although I wish that the snake wasn't always labeled as scary.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations but I did not like message of how kids should respond to different creatures felt it was bias.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid title to help engage and involve toddlers and caregivers during storytime.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect book to read to young children ages 3 and 4. I love all sound effects you can make when you read about the different animals. This book is a good way to introduce children to different animals, such as, the peacock, porcupine, dormouse, which are not as familiar. The illustrations are colorful and fun and the children will want this book read over and over again.



Learning Experience:
This book contains many learning experiences:
1.) Introducing new animals. 2.) Acting out different animals, such as, the kitten, snake, alligator, etc. 3.) Have the children emphasize the sound effects that the book has for each animal. Ex: the kitten- AHHH and hug yourself, the pig- PEE..EW and hold your nose, the snake- YIKES! and jump back. This show how to demonstrate different reactions to things.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable...for very little kids.

My daughter thought it was cute, she is five. But there is no real story to it and that is what she looks for these days.

However, the illustrations are beautiful and so lifelike...I love the book for that alone!!

It would make a cute picture story book for younger kids. The title "If you see a" is on every other page of the book. So you get a lot of repition with those certain words which might also be good for kids learning to read.

[Jennifer Velez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very easy book for students to read. It repeats many of the words, so it makes it easy for the students to read. This book is about different animals and gives a descriptive word or adjective about the animals, the book says if you seen a _____ say "______". This could be used during a Reading Workshop mini lesson to help the students understand what are quotation marks and exclamation marks and identify them in different types of text. This is going to help the students understand what are quotation marks and exclamation marks used for and how they are used.

[Jacqueline Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a fun book and children will love it. They will love the anticipation of what sound to make next and reapeating the sounds when they see each animal. The book demonstrates the possibilities of emotional response to smelly - peeew, slimy - yuck etc. It can be used to teach alliterations and to introduce children to different animals. The illustrations are big and beautiful and can be easily seen.

[Sujeewa Ranasinghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very simple and it has repetitive text, therefore, young children can read by themselves. Eye catchy illustrations help them to identify different animals and express their feelings. This book has lot of alliterations, so teachers can use this book to teach same initial sound word such as spooky spider, pudgy pig etc..

[Jalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms.Donna did a wonderful job teaching us all about alliteration and she was also very prepared with visual and writing aids already pre made with our name and a word that had the first letter as our name. It was a fun and engaging way to teach young children all about alliteration in literature. I really enjoyed her presentation.

[Darchelle Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about animals. Children are always so engaged when animals are involved; many children can relate to the various animals in the story as their pets or ones that they have seen at the zoo. There are so many learning extensions that can be done with this book. MY favorite is having the children say the sounds aloud! Seeing children excited about reading is so rewarding!