Kamron and Alyssa's Corner: Ten Little Kittens by Marian Harris

This little corner was designed to highlight books that would interest the younger set and is named after my son and daughter, both of whom complained that I didn't focus enough on children's literature.  This one is for my daughter.

Ten Little Kittens
Written by Marian Harris
Illustrated by Jim Harris
2010 Accord Publishing
Hardcover Edition
ISBN-13:978-0-7407-9197-0
ISBN-10:0-7407-9197-4
Genre: Children's Fiction
Source: Review Copy

4 / 5 Stars

Marian Harris and Jim Harris, the creators of Ten Little Puppies, are back with a delightful rhyming book, this time focusing on the mischievous antics of a variety of little kittens.

Set to the rhyming scheme of "Ten Little Monkeys", children will readily recognize the rhyming pattern and follow along very easily.  They will enjoy watching the kittens meet up with a monster underneath the dock, dance with a pretty butterfly, swing from a Christmas tree, dress up with royal clothes, play checkers, and land in a plate of purple grapes.  I thought the rhymes were absolutely adorable and they were definitely catchy.  My daughter and I had a great time singing the rhymes to the "Ten Little Monkeys" song and rather enjoyed discussing the situations the kittens got themselves into.  My daughter often wondered what I would do if any cat in my house were to ever get into a situation like that; she rather enjoyed discussing that aspect of the book. There is also a brief description of each type of cat used in each rhyme at the end of the book for those children (and parents) interested in cats.

What I particularly liked in this book are the illustrations.  They are bright, detailed, colourful, and very complex.  For a seven-year-old, they are perfect and have given us a lot of discussion sessions as this book has been a favourite these past few days.  I don't think it would fare very well in the hands of a three-year-old as the pages are not very sturdy and with the holes in the center of the pages, I think they would tear very easily.  I also found that I had to hold the book either flat or upright or the googly eyes would fold back and give the kittens a somewhat creepy look.  It didn't seem to bother my daughter as much as it bothered me, but I thought the kittens looked like they were always going to faint. My only other complaint with the googly eyes is they prevent the book from sitting properly on the bookshelf; this may not bother someone else, but it certainly bothered me.  However, I adored the illustrations and every time I read the book with my daughter, we found something new to discuss and look over.  It's been fun to discuss and match the types of kittens with the names at the back of the book.  As a parent, I also liked the diversity in the language as it gave my daughter an opportunity to practice and experiment with her vocabulary.  The rhyming patterns also helped her to remember some of the tricker words.

This is a great book to add to any child's library.  It is fun and silly, with interesting and colourful illustrations and is one that kids will love.