How Many Cats Can Mrs. McTats' House Hold?

I have two cats, and sometimes they feel like a houseful, but I've got nothing on the kooky woman in Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats, written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and illustrated by Joan Rankin. Mrs. McTats is a kindly woman who lives in a little house with one cat for company - until more show up at the door...

The book might be called an alphabet book in disguise, as she gives every cat she takes in a name starting with the next letter of the alphabet. Most alphabet books have more than one thing to signify each letter, however, and in this case, it's just the cats' names, with the first letters printed bold and extra-large. While Capucilli doesn't give any physical description of the cats, Rankin does a good job of making each distinct from the rest. Some have stripes, some are solid; a couple even have spots. They come in all colors, and some are rotund, while others are slinky. Somehow, they all manage to get along, but how long will it be before the group becomes unmanageable?

I've read several of Capucilli's Biscuit books, which are written in simple prose form. This book is rhymed, and for the most part, the author does a good job with it, though there are times when the rhythm is a bit clunky. I also take slight issue with the series of three stanzas at the beginning that starts, "Every morning she left / as the clock struck eight" and concludes with two cats showing up when she gets home. It makes it sound like this happens every day; "One morning she left" would be a more logical choice.

The paintings have a fairly cartoonish feel to them, and the colors are rather pale and washed-out-looking. Mrs. McTats herself always wears a pink dress, a white apron and a purple coat. Her living room is full of shades of blue and green, while the cats boast all of the typical cat colors: gray, white, red, orange, brown and so on. Some have pin-prick eyes, while others gaze out with right green or yellow eyes.

As I read, I couldn't help but think of The Hobbit; the cats drop in on Mrs. McTats a few at a time, much like the dwarves when they pay their life-changing visit to Bilbo Baggins (and later when they drop in on Beorn). If upwards of 20 cats had shown up at her door at once, is it likely Mrs. McTats would have welcomed them? That's an interesting question. Another is the small matter of litter pans, which the book never goes into; it's hard enough trying to feed all those cats, but there are other matters to attend to as well. Still, as crazy cat ladies go, Mrs. McTats is undeniably lovable, and this unconventional alphabet book is a meowing good time from A to Z.