What If?

by Else Holmelund Minarik

Pit and Pat, two mischievous, irrepressible little kittens, are thrown out of the house for climbing the family Christmas tree and decide to decorate their own tree outside

Genres: Picture Books

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Else Holmelund Minarik was the author of the Little Bear series of children's books, which were successful as books, and were also made into a successful children's TV series. The Little Bear books sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.

Else Minarik was also the author of another well-known book, No Fighting, No Biting!

She was born in Denmark, and with her family immigrated to the United States at the age of four. After she graduated from Queens College, City University of New York she became a journalist for the Rome Daily Centennial newspaper and taught first-graders during WWII. Minarik lived in Nottingham, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than Clanton's "Something Extraordinary." In this story Pit and Pat are thrown out of the house one evening before Christmas (probably for playing with the ornaments) and come up with more and more exciting schemes & dreams... until they realize that all they really want is to go back in and join their family.

I like the easy-reader writing. The book is not a leveled reader format, but it works well for youngsters at that stage with repetition and pattern and perfect picture clues.

I'd give it another star if I liked the pictures more. I experience a frisson of dissonance looking at them... I think they're meant to be cutely mischievous cats, not as wicked as some of the pictures make them seem.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not up to the standards set by these two.