Counting with Tiny Cat

Reviewed by: Deidre Walsh - Goodall Memorial Library, Sanford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 10, 2017

Review

A book that is brilliant in its simplicity. This is not your typical counting book. In fact, I would not trust Tiny Cat to teach anyone how to count. Tiny Cat starts out with good intentions though. He has got 0-4 down pat. He starts with no balls of yarn, with a bland expression on his face. One red ball of yarn and he's got an intrigued look on his face. Two balls of yarn and Tiny Cat is looking pretty mischievous. Three balls of yarn and his tongue is sticking out with determined joy. Four balls of yarn and Tiny Cat is absolutely delirious. He is joyfully overwhelmed and can no longer keep track of how many yarn balls there are. With each page more balls of red yarn appear. And judging by his facial expressions, Tiny Cat is in his happy place. Until it becomes a bit too overwhelming. In the end Tiny Cat falls asleep atop a pile of an unknown amount of red yarn balls, with a contented grin on his face. This is a simple, funny and wonderfully expressive book. The illustrations are done in ink and crayon and colored digitally. Only four colors are used - white, gray, black and red. All set against a white background. There is minimal text. Except for one page, there is just one or two words per page. The text compliments the illustrations. The illustrations, however, make this book. They are a joy to behold. So much expression shown on Tiny Cat's face, just for counting (or not counting) balls of red yarn. This obviously shouldn't be used as a counting book. Although, it does show how to represent nothing, and many. This is a hilarious cat story, plain and simple. Pair this with the author's other books, "There are Cats in This Book" and "There are No Cats in This Book" for a fun-filled, interactive cat-themed story time. A first purchase for most public libraries and for any collection where cats are popular.

Overall Book Score: excellent