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

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 starsReviewer: Leslie AitkenLeslie 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.