Millions of Cats  Review by Stephanie Mihalik

1.     Bibliography

G’ag, Wanda. Millions of Cats.  New York:  Puffin Books, 1928.  ISBN 0142407089

2.     Plot Summary

When an elderly couple realizes that, although their lives are secure and comfortable, they are not quite complete, the very old woman decides a cat is what is needed to assuage their loneliness.  Thus, the very old man embarks on an other-worldly journey through hills and through valleys to fetch a cat for his dear.  As it turns out, trillions of cats are living among the sprawling feline countryside, and he simply cannot decide which one is the prettiest…so he brings them all home, as any adoring husband would do.  Upon returning home, the very old woman and man decide to let the cats decide which one is worthy of the title of prettiest and, therefore, the winner of a place in their idyllic home.  All of the cats but one humble, simple cat proceed to devour one another in a competitive fury.  Moreover, through the patient care and love of the very old woman and man, the one remaining cat becomes the most pretty of them all and enjoys the complete adoration and attention of the, at last, contented pair.

3.     Critical Analysis

G'ag's striking black and white illustrations appear to invite the reader into the pages to explore the sprawling bucolic scenes.  The hand lettering perfectly balances the folkloric elegance of the text.  The drawings of the very old woman and the very old man resemble hand-made dolls that beckon young readers to reach into the page and play a little while on the floor while listening to the story about a tremendous number of cats!  The rhythmic style utilized while introducing and reinforcing the notion of place value, embedded skillfully in a creative fictional tale, invites the child to welcome the orderly placement of the terms firmly in the mechanical and creative mind.  "[H]undreds...thousands...millions...billions...

trillions...":  the repetitional style gently solidifies these essential numerical concepts for the child. 

Additionally, children can certainly immediately relate to the thematic conundrum of being unable to decide among many inviting choices—especially at the candy store.  Yet, the careful message is subtly delivered that excess does not always make life easier or better.  Further, children are gently reminded by the victorious cat that possessing humility is a shield and a treasure—and may even be the primary element that leads to success.

4.     Review Excerpt(s) 

            1929 NEWBERY HONOR AWARD

1958 LEWIS CARROLL SHELF AWARD (posthumous)

From Knowledge Quest:  “Here Gag forever changed the possibilities for illustration design in picture books by spreading the illustration across two facing pages. Up until this time, the usual practice was to have the picture on one page and text on the other… Her classic picture books are something that children will cherish and return to time and time again (Crawford 2008, 63).”

Crawford, Philip Charles. 2006. “Of Sandpaper, Fairy Tales, Feminism, and Housework.” Knowledge Quest 35 (2): 62–65. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=24339817&site=ehost-live.

From The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Literature:  “Millions of Cats is a modernist folktale and a text that formally and thematically influenced the twentieth-century picture books that followed (op de Beeck 117).”

           

op de Beeck, Nathalie. “Wanda’s Wonderland:  Wanda G’ag and Her Millions of Cats.” In The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Literature, edited by Julie Mickenberg and Lynne Vallone, 115-127. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2011.

5.     Connections

A solid math connection could be made involving exploration and practice of place value, with specific focus on the hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, and trillions place values portrayed repeatedly in the text. 

A K-1 elementary lesson in life skills using this text could be taught on the subject of pets and all that they need to be healthy and happy.

We Are in a Book! Review by Stephanie Mihalik

1.     Bibliography

Willems, Mo. We Are in a Book! New York:  Hyperion Books for Children, 2010.  ISBN  1423133080

2.     Plot Summary

Willems’ Elephant and Piggie characters playfully dabble in all things meta in this delightfully self-referential early reader.  Quite revolutionary in nature, Willems devises a structure wherein Elephant and Piggie innocuously manipulate the actual readers to SAY WORDS!  Like banana.  A lot.  Elephant, in true Willems’ form, begins to experience anxiety about the imminent end of the book, which heightens the dramatic effect of the story.  Yet, Piggie, the true friend that he is, assures Elephant (and the reader!) that the book can be read again and again.

3.     Critical Analysis

Indeed, Willems may well be deemed the author who helps create for children a multi-dimensional understanding of the depth and structure of the experience of books and authorship.  The pervasive use of self-referential writing for children who are at such an inherently impressionable point in their early literacy development is perhaps the most brilliant, sure-fire way to assure that children who come to know this story will forever viscerally seek to connect with literature.  As the young readers sit gaping mouthed on the alphabet rugs and experience a book that talks to THEM!, the seeds of fascination with reading are firmly planted among the erupting laughter and the smiles.  Additionally, Willems’ instinctive ability to create the essence of emotions and responses with the most subtle illustrative details endears Elephant and Piggie instantly in the heart of the reader.  The theme of finality explored within the experience of becoming and being readers and learners—that even the most beautiful, joyful, relatable books come to an end—is empathetically and theatrically addressed by our trusted friends, Elephant and Piggie, and all are reassured that we may always return to the beginning—and start again.

4.     Review Excerpt(s)

2011 THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL HONOR BOOK

From School Library Monthly:  “Willems is a master at creating a variety of emotions in the faces and body language of these two lovable pals. Beginning readers will be engaged during every hysterical moment.”

From Library Media Connection: “Young students will be delighted with the child-like illustrations of Elephant and Piggie as they learn about reading books.”

From School Library Journal:  “Make room for another satisfying episode in the escapades of lovable Elephant (aka Gerald) and Piggie. This time the best buddies star in a witty metafictional romp replete with visual gags…”

5.     Connections

An English/creative writing/theatre connection could be made by having students write, individually or in groups, their own short stories with self-referential characters.  If groups are used, the students could then act out the stories for their classmates.

For a social learning connection, young elementary students could benefit from projected images of the numerous illustrations in this text of Elephant and Piggie that depict various emotions (i.e., content, surprised, excited, confused, happy, upset, worried, sad, and hopeful) as students are guided to recognize facial expressions and their accompanying emotions.

An (upper school) English lesson on the use and purpose of the related literary device of authorial intrusion could be (playfully) introduced with this text, with various other advanced textual examples of this similar device studied in-depth (e.g., Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons).

Hello Lighthouse Review by Stephanie Mihalik

Hello Lighthouse Review by Stephanie Mihalik

1.      Bibliography

Blackall, Sophie. Hello Lighthouse. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018.  ISBN  9780316362382

2.     Plot Summary

Hello Lighthouse, by Sophie Blackall, begins with the careful, orderly adventure of a lighthouse keeper who dutifully performs his work of shining his light out into the sea in the face of variable weather and heavy loneliness.  Holding on to hope, he keeps the lighthouse shining out into the world, “HELLO! …HELLO! …HELLO!” and continues to write and send messages in bottles to his love.  At long last, she joins him, and they are immensely happy together, weathering a shipwreck and rescue, his serious illness, and the unassisted birth of their precious baby girl.  Their life is magical and other-worldly.  They are unified and shining.  When word arrives from the coast guard that a mechanical light fixture will be installed and his services are no longer needed, they are visibly alarmed.  Yet, he transitions with poise, completing with dignity and steadfastness his final duties in the lighthouse.  The man and his family bid farewell to the life they loved, and they traveled to the shore, anchored and new.  The final illustration reveals their collective commitment to keep shining their lights, performing their duties with love, in this generation and in the ones yet to come.

3.     Critical Analysis

Hello Lighthouse is a picture book rich in allegorical power.  The reader is transported through the poignant significance of the lighthouse keeper maintaining and shining the light of the lighthouse until his duties are completed.  One is left awestruck with Blackall’s skillful denouement of the beloved, young child grasping and shining her own light in response, steadily, carrying on.  Blackall’s repeated use of circle symbolism throughout the text further emphasizes the continuing on of the cycle of living our lives as well and presently as possible, through the trials and through the joys, so as to teach and inspire the generations to follow. 

Particularly artful is the use of foreshadowing in Hello Lighthouse, most notably with the ethereal image of the whale and her calf on the preceding page of the lighthouse keeper and his wife preparing for the birth of their child.  Indeed, as the whales follow their ancient inner knowing for their voyages through the seas, so do humans often follow the call to bring new life into the world to carry on the light of our love and our care.  The significance of our lives lived well, however small the scale, reverberates like the ripples of the wind-brushed sea, as we bravely answer the call, “Hello! …Hello!  Hello!”

4.     Review Excerpt(s)

2019 CALDECOTT MEDAL

From Book Links reviewer Sonja Cole:  “Old-fashioned details imbue the story with a sense of history and nostalgia that will fascinate history-loving kids, while the lavish ocean spreads will have them dreaming of the sea.”

From Publishers Weekly:  “Many spreads, delicate as painted porcelain, depict the lighthouse amid the breaking waves and changing life of the ocean…It’s a jewel of a creation and a gift to those who dream of retreat.”

From Kirkus Reviews:  “A fascinating, splendidly executed peek into both the mundane and the dramatic aspects of lighthouse life.” 

5.     Connections

Hello Lighthouse could work beautifully in a middle school or upper elementary English language/literature lesson on foreshadowing and symbolism.  Students could share out in groups and create short presentations on an example of either literary element.

A history connection could certainly be made, using nonfiction books and online resources on the history of lighthouses and on notable lighthouses, as well as an extended focus on Blackall’s expository inclusion in the end pages of the text, “About Lighthouses.”

Lighthouses for Kids:  History, Science, and Lore with 21 Activities by Katherine House, ISBN 1556527209

https://kids.kiddle.co/Lighthouse

An art lesson connection could focus in on the use of the circle in Hello Lighthouse.  Each student could create an original “circle illustration” of an image not present in the book but one that would be a feasible occurrence/situation.

A creative writing extension could be to connect with students the idea of each person “shining our lights into the world.”  What does this mean?  How can we do this by being true to who we are and pursuing our dreams in life?

A technology connection could be made by linking the logbook entries in Hello Lighthouse to an introductory Excel lesson—the modern logbook for our times. 

Also, as a science connection, a basic circuitry lesson could be taught, maker-space style:  children working in small groups could design lighthouses out of construction paper, tape, paper towel rolls, and a circuit light that they build and make operational for the top of their structures.