Cat Comes Too by H. Hutchins and Dog Comes Too by same author

Authors

  • Erika Banski

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20361/G2RK57

Abstract

Hutchins, Hazel.  Cat Comes Too. Illus. Gosia Mosz.   Toronto: Annick Press, 2013.
_____________  Dog Comes Too.  Toronto: Annick Press, 2013.

Nicely sized for children’s hands, these two little board books should delight both pre-schoolers and beginning readers. Their story lines are simple and humorous.

In the first, a curious kitten follows a pair of human feet (the entire body is never revealed but seems feminine) up the stairs to the attic and, there, has a fine frolic amidst the storage.  In the second, a puppy follows a heavy-booted pair of legs (gender unclear) on an outdoor hike that proves challenging, but not impossible, for the small canine striver.

Gosia Mosz’s colorful line drawings give us, simultaneously, both the world view of each young pet and a sense of its indomitable personality.  With very few words, and a vocabulary level well within the range of most three- to six-year-olds, Hazel Hutchins produces a delightful amount of word play, particularly in Dog Comes Too:

            “Too far
                        Too hot
            Too tired, pup?
                        Big rest
             Two friends
                        To the top
             Together”   (Dog…pp.15-19)

(For the children who read this book, a formal lesson on homonyms may come years later, if at all; no matter. They will have internalized the concept, anyway.)

In these works, Hutchins and Mosz demonstrate the features of good composition for the very young: simple plotlines; recognizable settings; text that is readily memorized, then read; illustrations that are wedded to the text; characters that are lovable; and a viewpoint not unlike their own--all this and witty wording, too.  Brilliant.

Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars
Reviewer:  Leslie Aitken

Leslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship involved selection of children’s literature for school, public, special, and university collections.  She is a former Curriculum Librarian at the University of Alberta.

Author Biography

Erika Banski

Metadata and Collections Librarian

Published

2015-10-23

How to Cite

Banski, E. (2015). Cat Comes Too by H. Hutchins and Dog Comes Too by same author. The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.20361/G2RK57

Issue

Section

Book Reviews