McClintock, Barbara. Three Little Kittens. Scholastic, 2020. Unpaged. $18.99 978-1-338-12587-7. Grades PreK-2. 

Do we need another version of The Three Little Kittens?  Yes, we do, if it’s this engagingly drawn beauty from Barbara McClintock. The rhyme is the one we know so well, and the anthropomorphized cats (and one mouse) are unique and distinguishable as they dirty, then wash, their mittens. Their emotions are visible: joy at play, elation at eating pie, sadness at dirty mittens and disappointed mother, and pride at having solved the problem. The ending brings a welcome addition: when they “hush… smell a mouse close by,” they offer pie to the mouse as well. Mother cat talks on a cell phone, and many speech bubbles reveal both the rhyme and the sibling-like thoughts of the kittens. Readers will be drawn to this rhyming story establishing good kitten–er, child behavior, and ask for re-reading.

THOUGHTS: A must-purchase for pre-K-Kindergarten set; be sure to share with early childhood and early elementary students and their teachers.

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD