10 Cats
by Emily Gravett; illus. by the author
Preschool    Boxer/Union Square    32 pp.
5/23    9781914912580    $16.99

This playful tale about colors and numbers stars one adult cat and nine lively kittens. While they frolic on each spread, the text invites viewers to find the felines with certain markings: “3 cats with stripes”; “4 cats with patches.” There are also three cans of paint, and as the adult cat sleeps, the sense of mischief is palpable when the kittens lift the lids off the cans. Paint cans tumble, and red, yellow, and blue paint flow across the spreads. Now there are “5 cats with red spots” and “6 cats with yellow dots.” Soon the colors mix to create “orange splotches” and “green splats.” By the time the bemused adult wakes up, there are “10 multicolored cats,” nine of whom are worn out from their adventures. No worries: the big cat cleans them up. Young children learning to count will delight in the growing chaos on each spread, the expressively rendered kittens, and the proliferation of bright colors at each page-turn. Gravett’s nimble linework communicates a frolicsome tone. Viewers will want to head immediately back to page one and start counting again.

Pubissue-From the May/June 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.