An Alphabet of Cats for Mrs. McTats

On a recent trip to the library, I picked up Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s picture book, Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats because my little girl loves cats, and I knew Joan Rankin’s illustrations would capture her interest. I had never heard of the book, but the rhyming title and gentle looking cover illustration, with its pastel colors and a rotund Mrs. McTats surrounded by a variety of cats, made it seem like a pleasant story for reading aloud. Upon reading the book, I was pleased to find not only a charming rhyme about a woman with a small house and a big heart, but also a clever means to teach children their alphabet, as well as some basic counting and addition skills. Since my toddler is just starting to learn her alphabet I was pleased by the bonus. Although she is too young right now to fully understand the mathematical concepts included in the tale, I was right about the cats—she is constantly choosing this book from her pile of library books to sit with, leaf through the pages, and pretend to read aloud the words she sees in her own version of baby English, while frequently pointing to the cats and saying "meow!"

As an animal lover, Mrs. McTats is the sort of woman I am in danger of becoming in my older years, should my partner pass on before me and my children fail to convince me to see reason and/or visit me on a regular basis. Though her age is never stated, she is shown with red hair rather than grey hair. The fact that she is a "Mrs." despite living alone suggests that she is a widow, somewhere in middle age. It all starts reasonably enough—"In a small, cozy cottage lived Mrs. McTats. She lived all alone, except for one cat." Each morning, she rushes off to the local market to select something for the dinner she will share with her sole companion, Abner. But one day upon her return, she hears a scratch at the door. Two stray cats have found her doorstep, and being a kindhearted soul with a soft spot for cats, she decides to take them in. "'Come in, my sweet dears,' said Mrs. McTats. 'I’m sure I’ve got room for just two more cats. I’ll call you Basil, and Curly you’ll be. I only had one cat, but now I have three!'"

Thus, the pattern for the story is established. Each day, Mrs. McTats goes off to market, and when she returns, more cats show up on her doorstep. Notice that she has named the cats alphabetically (Abner, Basil and Curly), and this trend continues. The first letter of each new cat’s name is always in bold print to subtly indicate the pattern for young readers, and allow adults to point out "U is for Ursula" and so forth along the way. Adults might easily play an alphabet game with children they’re sharing this book with, asking them to guess the names of the next set of cats before turning the page.

In addition to the alphabetic pattern of the cats’ names, there is a pattern to the number of strays that shows up at the cottage. First, as indicated above, two cats are added to bring the total cat count up to three. The next day, three cats show up, bringing the tally to six. The following day, four cats show up, and so forth, so that children can guess how many new cats will come to call on Mrs. McTats each day. After each new arrival, adults can also ask children how many cats Mrs. McTats currently has, to practice some simple addition. The tally is always inserted subtly in the text as Mrs. McTats goes to market and wonders what she should get to feed X number of cats, or tells herself she has room for Y number of cats, or via the narrator (e.g. "Twenty-five cats ready for lunch!"). Thus, the idea of addition is emphasized without there being an overt math lesson, and children who are paying attention to the pattern can check their mental sums against the text.

Joan Rankin’s watercolors give each new cat a distinct personality and add to the atmosphere of gentle kindness and love within the cottage walls. The names that Mrs. McTats invents add to the whimsy and charm created by the illustrations and rhyming text. Who wouldn’t enjoy cats named Xinnie, Yodel, Quip and Jezebel? Just when you think the story couldn’t get any sweeter, Capucilli produces a surprise ending with the arrival of Zoom, the final addition to Mrs. McTats’ burgeoning household. I won’t spoil things by saying more about him, but I think children will find his presence delightful.

My daughter was delighted by the cat illustrations and rhythm of the text as I read to her. I was delighted by the clever ways in which Capucilli inserted learning opportunities into her verse. Overall, this is a quaint story that provides an opportunity for building the language and math skills of the little one in your life in a fun way. I’ll definitely be on the look out for more books by Capucilli the next time I’m at the library. To learn more about her work, visit her web site at http://www.alyssacapucilli.com/.

For information on another great alphabet book for kids, see my review of ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book.