41. The Kitten Who Thought He Was a Kitten

41. The Kitten Who Thought He Was A Mouse. Miriam Norton. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1951. 22 pages. [Source: Bought [4 stars, Little Golden Book]

First sentence: There were five Miggses: Mother and Father Miggs, and Lester and two sisters. They had, as field mice usually do, an outdoor nest for summer in an empty lot and an indoor nest for winter in a nearby house. They were very surprised one summer day to find a strange bundle in their nest, a small gray and black bundle of fur and ears and legs, with eyes not yet open. They knew by its mewing that the bundle must be a kitten, a lost kitten with no family and no name.

Premise/plot: Mickey is the kitten raised as a mouse. He goes many months thinking--believing--that he is a mouse. He's raised to fear cats, to watch for cats. So what happens when the human family discovers him, starts feeding him, and shows him--via a mirror--that he IS a cat. Can he overcome the confusion? Will he choose to live as a mouse or a cat? How will he feel about his adopted family? 

My thoughts: I'll be honest the text was all over the place. I'm all for nature versus nurture. (Though it isn't always my favorite or best theme. My favorite of this type being LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION which is just pure awesomeness.) I loved, loved, loved the illustrations by Garth Williams. Garth Williams illustrating cute and adorable cats, kittens, and mice?!?! I'm there for it. I'd read it for his illustrations alone.

 

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers

121. The Kitten Who Thought He Was A Mouse

Picture Book: (Golden Book) The Kitten Who Thought He Was A Mouse. Miriam Norton. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1951. 22 pages. [Source: Library] [Link to cover image]

First sentence: There were five Miggses: Mother and Father Miggs, and Lester and two sisters. They had, as field mice usually do, an outdoor nest for summer in an empty lot and an indoor nest for winter in a nearby house. They were very surprised one summer day to find a strange bundle in their nest, a small gray and black bundle of fur and ears and legs, with eyes not yet open. They knew by its mewing that the bundle must be a kitten, a lost kitten with no family and no name.

Premise/plot: Mickey is the kitten raised as a mouse. He goes many months thinking--believing--that he is a mouse. He's raised to fear cats, to watch for cats. So what happens when the human family discovers him, starts feeding him, and shows him--via a mirror--that he IS a cat. Can he overcome the confusion? Will he choose to live as a mouse or a cat? How will he feel about his adopted family? 

My thoughts: I'll be honest the text was all over the place. I'm all for nature versus nurture. (Though it isn't always my favorite or best theme. My favorite of this type being LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION which is just pure awesomeness.) I loved, loved, loved the illustrations by Garth Williams. Garth Williams illustrating cute and adorable cats, kittens, and mice?!?! I'm there for it. I'd read it for his illustrations alone.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Jolly Jingle Book

The Jolly Jingle Book. Leroy F. Jackson. Illustrated by Clare McKinley. 1951/1961. Rand McNally. 30 pages. [Source: Bought]

Premise/plot: The Jolly Jingle Book is a collection of rhyming poems for young children. The poems are often silly and focus on imaginative play.

Poems included:
"Away Down South"
"Ginger"
"The Fuzzies"
"Milky Moo"
"The Banyan Tree"
"Going to the Fair"
"Whimpy Crimpy, Curl"
"Granny Faddle"
"Clatter Street"
"Wicked Willie"
"Isn't it Grand?"
"Chatter Chin"
"The House Beside the Mill"
"The Wooly Owl"
"Sugar"
"Miss Topsy Turvy"
"Going Home"
"I Like the Moon"

My thoughts: I chose this one for the illustrations. I love, love, love vintage illustrations. The poems range from fun to extremely silly and ridiculous. These aren't poems that take themselves too seriously. I can appreciate that.

Ginger

Ginger is a scalawag,
Ginger is a pup;
He got into the cellarway
And ate the sausage up.
He got into the cubbyhole
And carried off a shoe;
There's hardly any naughty trick
That Ginger doesn't do. 

The Wooly Owl

The wooly owl is very wise;
He says that sugar's good for flies,
That pumpkin seeds and Spanish moss
Will never make good applesauce.

Sugar

I want sugar on my oatmeal
And sugar on my bread,
I'll turn into a sugar stick
Some day, my grandma said.
Sugar by the spoonful
And sugar by the bowl--
I wouldn't trade a lump of sugar
for a car of coal. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers