Review by Booklist Review
Inspired by the nursery rhyme, McClintock's latest book is big, bold, and brimming with mischievous fun. In the updated setting, the mother cat wears an apron and carries a cellphone. The plot is more or less familiar: Having lost their mittens, the three little kittens must forgo their mother's pie. After finding their mittens, they put them on to eat the pie. Disaster! Having soiled their mittens, they wash them at the kitchen sink, which overflows onto the floor. By mopping the floor and hanging their mittens up to dry, they earn their mother's praise. Then Mama smells a mouse--and serves another round of pie to her kittens, herself, and the happy little mouse. Lines from the traditional rhyme usually appear as text. Occasionally they're included in speech bubbles, which also carry comments from the characters, including childlike remarks from the kittens. Strong line drawings define the characters in the sunny pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations. One look at the rambunctious trio on the jacket will draw kids to this inventive, rewarding picture book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
McClintock (Vroom!) notes that TV cartoons were among the inspirations for her latest book, and she cheerfully channels them in single-plane compositions; vivid, stripped-down characterizations; and pencil, watercolor, and gouache vignettes. So too does she capture cartoons' straight-up fun, transplanting the classic nursery rhyme of kittens, mittens, and shenanigans into a suburban home with a mix of paneled and full-page spreads. The kittens (brown, tiger, and calico) continually get into scrapes: when they don mittens to eat the yearned-for pie, the result is a drippy, gloppy purple mess; ordered to wash their mittens, they of course flood the kitchen with suds. The creator's most inventive touch is jaunty patter and commentary--sometimes in dialogue balloons, sometimes in the narration itself--weaved in and around the original's more formal language. "Okay, let's stop crying and start looking," says the take-charge brown kitten when their mother insists that without the mittens "you shall have no pie." And the mittens' recovery is celebrated with a unison shout of "Watch out pie, here we come!" Ages 3--5. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K--A well-loved Mother Goose rhyme gets some modern updates by award-winning author McClintock (Emma and Julia Love Ballet). The story is told in a playful melding of picture book formatting (large, colorful illustrations with bold text) coupled with voice balloons, giving it a comic book vibe. Most of the nursery rhyme's original text is preserved, but now we get to hear the dialogue among the three naughty kittens and their long-suffering mother. When the little imps find their lost mittens, they joyfully cry out: "Watch out, pie! Here we come!" Later on they must interrupt their mother chatting on her cell phone to confess that they've now soiled said mittens. Note that McClintock's version has a much happier ending than the original, in which the mother smells "a rat close by." In this iteration, mother smells a mouse (who the reader has spied throughout the book) who is quickly asked to join the pie feast and is even invited to stay after and play. VERDICT A fun, energetic read that will make new Mother Goose fans of little ones. Recommended for purchase.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, MI
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
This adaptation of a traditional English nursery rhyme features a contemporary setting, dialogue, and a small twist.Three anthropomorphized kittens wearing conspicuous, colorful mittens (but no other clothing) are seen outside a cozy suburban house, skateboarding, playing ball, and skipping rope. A sweet scent wafts from an open window, through which a smiling cat in a dotted apron can be seen removing a pie from the oven. In their race to the door the kittens lose their mittens, of course, and the story unfolds from there. In some cases, the rhymes appear in dialogue balloons, at other times as part of the main text, both of which also include additional, original lines. Unexpected interjections add humor, as when the kittens react to the mess they've made by eating blueberry pie while wearing mittens: " Ooops!' Eeew!' Gross!' " Created with pencil, watercolor, and gouache, McClintock's feline portraits pack plenty of personality. Big-footed and slightly round-bellied, the variously colored kittens have big eyes and sweet smiles. Mother, meanwhile, is slim and sleek, with extremely expressive whiskers. The setting is simply presented, limited to the outside of the house, inside the kitchen, and at the table. At times the characters appear against blank, softly colored backgrounds. Alternating double-page spreads, single pages, and occasional panels add interest and move the action along smoothly. Sharp-eyed listeners may notice an additional character whose presence is acknowledged in the cheerful conclusion.A sprightly and charming modern take on a traditional rhyme. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
