Three Little Kittens

by Barbara McClintock, Barbara McClintock (Illustrator)

Overview

Award-winning author-illustrator Barbara McClintock returns with her original, fun-filled adaption of the popular nursery rhyme story.

"McClintock's feline portraits pack plenty of personality.... A sprightly and charming modern take on a traditional rhyme." -- Kirkus ReviewsMake way for the three little kittens who lost their mittens -- as you've never seen them before!Who will be able to resist wailing along with the naughty little kittens as they lose their mittens? And who won't relish rejoicing with the good little kittens as they find and wash their mittens -- and earn their pie -- as well as a loving hug from their Mama?Barbara McClintock, a master of visual storytelling, presents this classic favorite in a comic-book style that encourages full reader participation. And her original twist to the ending is a warm embrace of kindness and empathy to strangers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338599282
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/21/2020
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
File size:	66 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Barbara McClintock has written and/or illustrated over 40 distinguished books for children. Emma and Julia Love Ballet which she wrote and illustrated, received three starred reviews, and My Grandfather's Coat, retold by Jim Aylesworth, also received three starred reviews and was named a Sydney Taylor Honor Book. Her books have five times been named New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books. She has received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, as well as a myriad of other awards and honors. Barbara lives in Connecticut with her family and their four very graceful cats.

Editorial Reviews

02/17/2020

McClintock (Vroom!) notes that TV cartoons were among the inspirations for her latest book, and she cheerfully channels them in single-plane compositions; vivid, stripped-down characterizations; and pencil, watercolor, and gouache vignettes. So too does she capture cartoons’ straight-up fun, transplanting the classic nursery rhyme of kittens, mittens, and shenanigans into a suburban home with a mix of paneled and full-page spreads. The kittens (brown, tiger, and calico) continually get into scrapes: when they don mittens to eat the yearned-for pie, the result is a drippy, gloppy purple mess; ordered to wash their mittens, they of course flood the kitchen with suds. The creator’s most inventive touch is jaunty patter and commentary—sometimes in dialogue balloons, sometimes in the narration itself—weaved in and around the original’s more formal language. “Okay, let’s stop crying and start looking,” says the take-charge brown kitten when their mother insists that without the mittens “you shall have no pie.” And the mittens’ recovery is celebrated with a unison shout of “Watch out pie, here we come!” Ages 3–5. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Three Little Kittens:"McClintock's feline portraits pack plenty of personality.... A sprightly and charming modern take on a traditional rhyme." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

PreS-K—A well-loved Mother Goose rhyme gets some modern updates by award-winning author McClintock (Emma and Julia Love Ballet). The story is told in a playful melding of picture book formatting (large, colorful illustrations with bold text) coupled with voice balloons, giving it a comic book vibe. Most of the nursery rhyme's original text is preserved, but now we get to hear the dialogue among the three naughty kittens and their long-suffering mother. When the little imps find their lost mittens, they joyfully cry out: "Watch out, pie! Here we come!" Later on they must interrupt their mother chatting on her cell phone to confess that they've now soiled said mittens. Note that McClintock's version has a much happier ending than the original, in which the mother smells "a rat close by." In this iteration, mother smells a mouse (who the reader has spied throughout the book) who is quickly asked to join the pie feast and is even invited to stay after and play. VERDICT A fun, energetic read that will make new Mother Goose fans of little ones. Recommended for purchase.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, MI

School Library Journal

2019-12-08
This adaptation of a traditional English nursery rhyme features a contemporary setting, dialogue, and a small twist.

Three anthropomorphized kittens wearing conspicuous, colorful mittens (but no other clothing) are seen outside a cozy suburban house, skateboarding, playing ball, and skipping rope. A sweet scent wafts from an open window, through which a smiling cat in a dotted apron can be seen removing a pie from the oven. In their race to the door the kittens lose their mittens, of course, and the story unfolds from there. In some cases, the rhymes appear in dialogue balloons, at other times as part of the main text, both of which also include additional, original lines. Unexpected interjections add humor, as when the kittens react to the mess they've made by eating blueberry pie while wearing mittens: " ‘Ooops!' ‘Eeew!' ‘Gross!' " Created with pencil, watercolor, and gouache, McClintock's feline portraits pack plenty of personality. Big-footed and slightly round-bellied, the variously colored kittens have big eyes and sweet smiles. Mother, meanwhile, is slim and sleek, with extremely expressive whiskers. The setting is simply presented, limited to the outside of the house, inside the kitchen, and at the table. At times the characters appear against blank, softly colored backgrounds. Alternating double-page spreads, single pages, and occasional panels add interest and move the action along smoothly. Sharp-eyed listeners may notice an additional character whose presence is acknowledged in the cheerful conclusion.

A sprightly and charming modern take on a traditional rhyme. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews