Millions of Cats

The oldest American picture book still in print, and it still burstles with mischievous life. Wanda Gág's 1928 masterpiece begins with a very old man and very old woman who are terribly lonely. When the man goes out to find one cat, he cannot choose among the thousands and millions and billions of cats who present themselves, so he brings them ALL home. What follows is magnificent chaos: cats on the furniture, cats in the garden, cats fighting and yowling over who is the prettiest. But in the end, when the noise subsides, the couple discovers a small, scraggly, unpretentious kitten hiding quietly in the shadows. This overlooked little cat becomes their cherished companion, revealing a powerful truth about where real love often dwells. The cumulative, rhyming text practically demands to be read aloud, with its irresistible rhythm that children have loved for nearly a century. This Newbery Honor winner remains remarkably fresh, not because it pretends to be modern, but because its heart is in the right place: loneliness leads to abundance, and abundance leads back to one perfect, humble choice.