This story is not about a kitten

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Title:

This story is not about a kitten

Author:

De Sève, Randall, author.

Ellis, Carson, 1975- illustrator.

Summary:

Contrary to what you may believe, this story is not about a kitten, hungry and dirty, scared and alone, needing a home. It is also not about the dog who heard the kitten meowing sadly. Even less so about the woman and child walking the dog, who stopped when their dog heard the kitten. Nor is it about the friends who brought a box for the kitten, or the man who offered it some milk. No, this story is not about a kitten at all—well, maybe a little—but more importantly this is a story about community, compassion, and generosity. -- Amazon.

Audience:

Ages 4-8. Random House Studio.

Grades 2-3. Random House Studio.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

40 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 24 x 29 cm.

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Cats -- Juvenile fiction.

Kittens -- Juvenile fiction.

Animals -- Infancy -- Juvenile fiction.

Neighbors -- Juvenile fiction.

Helping behavior -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Ellis, Carson, 1975-

Publisher:

Random House Studio,

Publication Date:

2022

ISBN:

9780593374535

9780593374542

Publication Information:

New York : Random House Studio, [2022]

Call Number:

P DESEVE

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003637926	New Picture Books	DESEVE	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A heartwarming picture book about a neighborhood coming together to help a kitten find a home, from a New York Times bestselling author and a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator.

Contrary to what you may believe, this story is not about a kitten, hungry and dirty, scared and alone, needing a home. It is also not about the dog who heard the kitten meowing sadly. Even less so about the woman and child walking the dog, who stopped when their dog heard the kitten. Nor is it about the friends who brought a box for the kitten, or the man who offered it some milk. No, this story is not about a kitten at all-well, maybe a little-but more importantly this is a story about community, compassion, and generosity.

Randall de S ve's thoughtful and warm story is sure to fill readers of all ages with hope and the warm fuzzy feeling that rescuing animals brings. Wonderfully complemented by Carson Ellis's breathtaking illustrations, this book is sure to be cherished by animal-loving readers everywhere!

Author Notes

Randall de S ve is the New York Times bestselling author of award-winning picture books that have been translated into many languages worldwide. All of her stories spring from real-life experiences, then take shape in her imagination. This Story Is Not About a Kitten was inspired by the rescue of a kitten from under a car outside Randall's home, by a team of huge-hearted Brooklyn neighbors.

Carson Ellis is the author and illustrator of the bestselling picture books Home and Du Iz Tak? She also collaborated on the Wildwood Chronicles with her husband, Colin Meloy. She lives with her family near Portland, Oregon.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3--The tiny black-and-white kitten is hungry, dirty, and alone. She needs a home. But this story is mostly of how first a dog, then a mom and little girl, and then neighbors of all kinds come to the rescue. It's about community, neighborliness, and cooperation more than about just one lost kitten. Full-color, detailed illustrations add to the cumulative rhymes and show how working together benefits not only the rescued kitten but all the people who build friendships and find commonality based on their mutual concern. This is an uplifting and heartfelt story without being maudlin, and children will enjoy both the story of a rescued kitten and the rhyme that builds from simple to complex, reflecting the intricate mosaic that is a neighborhood. Recommended for younger students for independent reading and as a read-aloud. VERDICT A lost kitten's rescue shows how working together and being neighborly benefits everyone.--Eva Elisabeth VonAncken

Publisher's Weekly Review

If, as the title indicates, this story isn't about the kitten that appears in its early pages--a black and white feline, with warm orange eyes and a quizzical expression--what is it about? Readers don't find out until later, but the reveal is worth the wait. In the meantime, incantatory lines pile up, "House that Jack Built"--style, as de Sève (Zola's Elephant) describes the kitty ("hungry and dirty/ scared and alone"), the dog that hears its mewing beneath a car, the dog's people who follow, and the neighbors of various ages, body types, and skin tones materializing to help. Pretty soon, everybody's working to extricate the animal. Using loose, naïf-style gouache and hand-lettered word balloons, Caldecott Honoree Ellis portrays a community united: faces peer around the space under the car, and visually varied hands hold the flaps of the kitten's box as neighbors, one by one, face the next problem--what to do with the kitten. One voice, a child's, makes a suggestion ("Could we?") in this celebration of cooperation and simple kindness that portrays a glad coming-together above all. Ages 4--8. Agent (for de Sève and Ellis): Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)