The Lost Kitten

by Lee Lee, Komako Sakai (Illustrator)

Overview

An eagerly anticipated new picture book from Japan's leading illustrator, The Lost Kitten is a perfectly simple story about finding something to love then fearing it is lost. The atmospheric illustrations are filled with grace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781776571260
Publisher:	Gecko Press
Publication date:	04/01/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

Editorial Reviews

When a mother cat leaves a sick kitten at Hina’s home, the little girl learns about caring and compassion. While her own mother steps out to buy food for the kitten, Hina makes a collar and begins to think of names for her new pet. When the kitten wanders off, Hina recalls how she felt when she became separated from her mother in a store, motivating her to search diligently for the baby animal. The search is a success and inspires Hina’s choice for a name for the kitten. This tale of empathy and the responsibilities of pet care is straightforward and simple. The only inaccuracy is the feeding of milk to the kitten, which can cause them to experience diarrhea. But, ah, the illustrations! Comprised of lovely oil pencil sketches, complete with searching lines and imbued with a pastel palette, the illustrations beautifully capture the fragility of the kitten and the tender relationship between mother and child and between child and pet. Reviewer: Wendy Miller Kibler; Ages 2 to 5.

Children's Literature - Wendy Miller Kibler

04/01/2017
PreS-Gr 1—This gentle picture book by a popular Japanese illustrator and a debut author is a strong story about love and belonging. Young Hina and her mom find a stray cat leaving a sick kitten on their doorstep to be nurtured. At first, Hina wishes for a cute cat from the pet shop, but when the kitten stares at her with beautiful blue eyes, Hina is amazed that something so small can be alive. After a warm bed and a litter box are set up, Mom leaves Hina to care for the kitten while she buys cat food. Hina fears she's lost the kitten and remembers how scared she was when she got lost at the market. Knowing that the kitten must be just as frightened, Hina realizes it is up to her to keep the feline safe, and she frantically searches everywhere only to discover it bundled up in her sweater, asleep. Sakai's soft lines and blended gray, blue, and pink pastels complement the quiet tone of the text and give strong emotion to the simple, concise sentences. VERDICT More than a basic stray kitten tale, this is a sweet selection about being lost and found. The cozy ending will fill listeners with hope. Best shared one-on-one or with a small group.—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2017-02-14
A girl and her mother give a kitten a forever home.In this charming import from Japan via New Zealand, Hina and her mom discover a kitten on their doorstep. It's been brought to them by its own mother, who seems to beg this family to take in and care for her scrawny newborn. Though Hina is initially reluctant to keep the newcomer, her mother agrees immediately and begins to demonstrate for her daughter—and readers—responsible, loving ways to care for a helpless new pet: gently washing it; promising a next-day visit to the vet; advising soft stroking; feeding it; and encouraging Hina to let the animal be while it acclimates. After such tender TLC, the kitten finds safe haven under some furniture, and girl and mom fashion some important cat necessities. By this time, the child's changed her mind, but the plot turns when Hina suddenly realizes the kitten is missing and searches everywhere, finally locating her new pet in her closet, blissfully napping on her sweater. The simple storyline is sweetly told. The paint-and-colored-pencil illustrations stand out, with Sakai achieving a textured, scratchy, smudged look that wonderfully captures both the humans' and the cats' personalities; the adorable, blue-eyed kitten is marvelously realistic and winsome, its coat palpably soft. Mother and daughter have pinkish-tan skin, and Hina, especially, is most expressive. This lost kitten will easily find enraptured readers, especially among cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews