10 Cats, a counting book that uses logic, simplicity, humor….and cats

10 Cats is such a logical counting book, that’s also utterly original that you’ll want to slap yourself for not thinking of it first. It’s a counting book that combines the seek-and-find aspect that young ages have seen in some books but adds kittens. Oh, it is a counting book where pre-k and kindergarten ages learn to count, but instead of counting up, 10 Cats asks readers to find kittens with certain color patterns or other distinguishing marks.

It starts out showing us 10 cats, then shows us the mother cat with the very simple words “1 white cat”. To the side of the white cat, you can see the nine kittens who are playing with a toy mouse and wrestling on some closed cans of paint. After you turn that page you’ll see momma cat relaxing while the kittens have spread out further along the pages. “2 black cats” is written on that page, but it’s not that easy. One of the black cats is precariously balanced on a can of paint, that’s about to tip over. The other black cat is obvious, once you look at it, but the fact that there’s so much kitten movement, it distracts your eyes.

We’re asked to look for three cats with stripes, but again, there’s so much kitten movement your eyes aren’t sure what to focus on. It’s that plus the fact that the kittens, being the mischievous kings of the internet that they are, have managed to pry open one of the cans of paint.  By the time young readers get to the next page all three cans of paint are open, a trio of kittens have one of the cans wobbling on its edge and the momma cat is being kneaded on her belly by two of them.

On the next page, when we’re asked to find “5 cats with red spots” it’s chaos, with the white momma cat having a couple of red dots on her and a fleet of tiny red kitten paw prints around her. Some of the kittens have been accidentally splashed with red paint while others seem to have been rolling around in it.  As all of that is happening one of the kittens is wistfully peering over the edge of an open can of yellow paint.

When young readers are asked to find cats with other colored dots on them in subsequent pages the book entertainingly turns in a pre-k CAPTCHA test. “Well, I’m asked to find all of the cats with blue blotches, but this cat is playing with a cat with that pattern and color”, that’s what some kids will say. It’s just like you when you’re checking off all of the blocks that have a bicycle in them to prove that you’re human.

As the three different paint cans morph into many more colors like orange, green, or purple the momma cat wakes up. She’s a little bemused at the mischief that her kittens have gotten into but patiently starts the process of putting them into the bath. The kittens emerge from the bath and start cuddling, playing or sleeping, just the way the internet intended them to.

10 Cats is a counting book, yes, but it asks kids to count what’s not there and to observe traits about the cats and then count them. To those older, jaded souls it may not seem like much, but the subtle shift in asking young kids to identify, sort, and to count what’s not there is very smart stuff. You can count the cats with patches, but some kids will start, or go back and count again, the cats without patches. They might do simple subtraction from that point to figure out the number of cats who have those markings.

All of this is driven by the illustrations. Author/illustrator Emily Gravett obviously has multiple cats, or possibly has seen one too many cat videos online. If the latter one is the case then that’s a crime we’re all guilty of. This is a counting book that will hook any child, regardless of their affinity towards cats.

10 Cats is by Emily Gravett and is available on Boxer Books, an imprint of Union Square & Co., a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.

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