#72 - Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga'g

1929 Newbery Honor

This is an unusual choice for the Newbery as it is actually a picture book. Part of me wonders, "why the Newbery, why not the Caldecott?" Maybe because choices were fewer in the 1920's? Who knows. It is a cute story though. An old man and his wife are lonely, so the wife suggests they get a cat. The man goes out and comes across a hill that is covered by "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats." He can't decide which one he wants, so he brings them ALL home! Obviously, they can't feed all those cats, so they ask the cats which one of them is the prettiest. Well, they all think that they are the prettiest, and pretty soon they are all fighting. Eventually, they are all gone - except for one scrawny, homely little kitten who was ignored by the others. She becomes the couple's pet, and becomes the prettiest cat they've ever seen.