June's Book of the Month--Big Cat, Little Cat

“There was a cat
    who lived alone.
Until the day
    a new cat came.”

So begins BIG CAT, LITTLE CAT, by Elisha Cooper. Big cat teaches a little newcomer some very important rules of the house. These two kitties become inseparable: cleaning, climbing, hunting, exploring and doing all the things that cats in the city do. They enjoy years of loving companionship, “[u]ntil the older cat got older and one day he had to go…”

This is a lovely, accessible, and reassuring story about family, letting go, and new beginnings. It’s happy, it’s sad, and it’s ultimately an uplifting circle-of-life story. Kids should be able to handle the emotions explored here, and it's a gentle, accessible way way into a difficult discussion.

The expressive but spare black and white illustrations, with occasional pale orange background, earned Cooper a Newbery Honor for this book.

Have you read BIG CAT, LITTLE CAT? What do you think?

--Lynn