Gág, Wanda. Millions of cats. New York: Coward-McCann, 1928. ISBN 0-329-05573-9
This is the story of an old couple who are lonely and decide they want a cat. The old man goes out to find a cat and crosses a mountain covered in cats and can't decide which one to take home. All the cats end up following him home. They decide to keep the prettiest one and the cats all fight it out to be the prettiest. Once the dust settles, there is one scraggly little kitten hiding in the bushes. They take care of the kitten and he grows up to be the prettiest of them all.
Wanda Gág's story is a classic picture book story. Her illustrations are simple yet inviting. Even if one couldn't read the words of the story, the illustrations are such that one would understand the sequence of the story just by following the illustrations. The story lends itself to some simple mathematical sequencing by always describing the cats by hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, and trillions. It is a story with a happy ending.
Wanda Gág's book "Millions of Cats" received the Newbery Honor in 1929. It is one of the oldest "classic" picture books still in print today.
This book is great for showing the mathematical sequence of hundreds to thousands to millions to billions to trillions. It even has the moral that even the scrawniest of animals can turn out to be the most beautiful.
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