Three Little Kittens

It was just about a year ago that I first spotted Jerry Pinkney's Caldecott Medal winning  The Lion & the Mouse  as I was browsing for books for my grandkids. It was love at first sight - a love that has since deepened as I've added two more of Pinkney's wonderful adaptations ( Aesop's Fables  and  Rikki-Tikki-Tavi ) to my collection as well. When Amazon notified me that Pinkney had a new book coming out, my first reaction was to squee like a Twilight-loving 'tween who had just opened her door to find RPatz standing on her porch. Fortunately, I was able to retain some semblance of dignity and instead indulged my happy anticipation by popping over to Amazon and pre-ordering Three Little Kittens, which arrived a few days ago.Pinkney does not disappoint. His newest storybook bursts with the same exuberance as that of the rambunctious kittens that tumble across the pages in a tangle of fur and paws, bells, mittens and the occasional lip-licking tongue. With the simple tools of graphite, colored pencil and watercolor, Pinkney perfectly captures the playfulness of the kittens and skillfully suggests some of the endearing but odd little things kittens do - the sudden pounces and quick scrambles, the inexplicable but urgent need to be in the next room (right NOW!!) - that sometimes seem to serve no purpose but to provide entertainment to the humans viewing them.The artwork, rendered in warm autumn colors, is large and lush, barely contained by page size. But it is the details that help to make this book so much fun to pour over with children: the knitted scarves and hats worn by the birds, the mouse toys, the blue-on-white china the kittens eat their pie from, the basket filled with clothespins that sits alongside the barrel and washboard the kittens use to wash their mittens, the homey quilt hanging on the clothesline, even Mama's lace collar. The old-fashioned flavor suits the story perfectly and gives parents and grandparents an opportunity to talk about things (aprons, clotheslines, etc.) that, in today's world, may not be familiar to some young children.I also appreciated that the very polite young kittens, while given the freedom to romp in the curling autumn leaves, were expected to keep track of their things and were responsible for locating their mittens when they misplaced them. They were also expected to clean the mittens themselves after forgetting to remove them before enjoying the berry pie. Even better, this expectation of responsible behavior comes from a parent who seems lovingly firm rather than unreasonably severe or too steeped in rules; it is clear that the kittens respect but do not fear their mother. Indeed, they are clearly confidant of her love even when admitting they've been careless. I was happy to see these important messages so deftly conveyed with a light, appealing touch.Once again Pinkney, with his wondrous talent, his mastery of the tools and mediums he employs and his exquisite eye for detail has given us a masterpiece of beauty and creativity. Even the dust jacket enjoys his special touches; printed among some stray leaves on the jacket's reverse side is music for a Three Little Kittens song.Highly recommended, both for reading with children and for collectors.

Artwork in the book was beautiful. Do not understand, however, why the words were changed from the original poem. Disappointing.

It says “brand new” in the advertisements but this book had several large stickers covering up most of the art on the cover that were much too sticky to peel off. Also the package came with several other religious books that I did not order and I do not have room for and I cannot afford a trash service so it was very much not appreciated.

My daughter checked this out at the library and fell in love with it!! She wanted to keep it so bad and was crushed when i told her we had to give it back. When she got this in the mail she was so happy. She opened it and read it to me a million times. It is a hard cover book with a cover. I took the cover off just as a habit of fearing my daughter would rip it, and they actual cover of the book is the same. GREAT BUY

I chose this book as a gift for an 18 month old grandchild because I love everything illustrated by Jerry Pickney, an African American artist. Mr. Pickney's illustrations are beautiful, rich and detailed. He has won many awards including the Caldecott Medal. Through Amazon, I actually bought five different books, written and/or illustrated by Mr. Pinkney. He was in a nearby town recently for a museum showing of his other artistic works. I was able to get all of the books autographed. I am sure that all of the grand kids will love them and cherish them.

I tell my 3 year old the poem of the 3 kittens and their mittens. This is very close to what i remember. the kittens are beyond cute as they deal with loosing their mittens and then having to wash them. The last line I remember was Hush I smell a rat close by. In this book they choose to just have the story loop back around again. Not a problem my 3 year old doesn't know the rat isn't at the end of this book. I love the book just wish it wasnt changed.

I came upon this book in the library when looking for books for my grandson who is 2. He absolutely loves this book, and the illustrations are adorable. I decided to purchase it for his permanent library.

I was kind of bummed with this book because the Three Little Kittens was a favorite of mine when I was little but the pictures in this book are a little too busy and the story is different than what I was expecting. Clearly this is a prejudiced review as I was holding the book to an unfair standard (childhood memories).

Though the illustrations are pretty, the poem has been change from its orginal. I was looking for the original poem so returned it.

I haven’t picked this up yet from the U.K. but it’s a story my own children loved this is THE best rendition of this old tale and has the most amazing pictures my new granddaughter will love it