The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way)

by Patrick McDonnell (Artist)

Overview

Bestselling and award-winning artist Patrick McDonnell uses the ABC's to tell a hilarious, high-energy alphabetical adventure.

It starts with an ALLIGATOR and a BEAR chasing a CAT. When a DRAGON (and a chicken and an egg!) join in pursuit, things start to get REALLY interesting. A wild and wacky chase through snow and ice, and to jungles and over mountaintops, leads the whole crew to a wonderful realization: They're better off as friends.

From New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Honor recipient Patrick McDonnell comes an exciting new take on the alphabet book for everyone who has ever wondered what's just beyond the front door.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316502467
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	354,761
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Patrick McDonnell is the author and illustrator of Tek: The Modern Cave Boy, Thank You and Good Night, A Perfectly Messed-Up Story, The Monsters' Monster, and Me...Jane, a Caldecott Honor Book. He is also the creator of the internationally syndicated comic strip Mutts, which inspired his picture books The Gift of Nothing, Hug Time, and others. He lives in New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

The book's vintage visual vibe harks back to George Herriman's Krazy Kat and George McManus's Bringing Up Father with a dash of the Fleischer Brothers' animated fluidity—as well as, of course, McDonnell's own aura of gentleness and sincerity…McDonnell's work once again proves to be silly, sweet and even timeless.

The New York Times Book Review - Dan Yaccarino

Praise for The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way):
A New York Times Notable Children's Book of 2017
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2017
An Amazon Best Book of the Month (September 2017)
School Library Journal's Best Picture Books of 2017
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year 2017
Huffington Post's Best Picture Books of 2017
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of 2017
A Nerdies 2017 Selection
ALA-ALSC Notable Books for Children List 2018


*"Give this book an F, yes, an F: for fun and funny."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Touches of wit and plenty of zip recommend this for lap-sit sharing."
—The Horn Book, starred review

*"Gloriously fun...teeming with visual wit."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"Energetic and highly engaging...A brilliant caper that young learners will want to pore over!"—School Library Journal, starred review

"McDonnell's work once again proves to be silly, sweet and even timeless."—The New York Times Book Review

"McDonnell recaps the letters and implied words at the story's end, but there aren't any real stumpers—just the pure pleasure of retelling this manic romp, using the alphabet/illustration combo as cue cards along the way."
—BCCB

"Delightful."—The New York Times

"Simplicity doesn't take away from the humor."—Booklist

"This nearly wordless adventure is a beautiful example of how less is more."—The Virginian-Pilot

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2017
PreS-Gr 1—McDonnell's abecedarian tale takes a small scarlet cat on a breathtaking adventure. The clever tale—wordless except for two signs and one warning shout—begins when the feline notices his home's front door standing open and takes to the hills. He almost immediately comes upon a gape-mouthed Alligator, a climbing Bear, and an agitated Chicken along with a couple of other pursuers of the D and E variety. A chase begins with the cat leading his entourage through a day filled with ice and snow, a jungle, mountain peaks, and a potentially hazardous tumble off a high cliff. Humorous pen, ink, pencil and watercolor illustrations surrounded by copious white space are energetic and highly engaging for readers. The large letters of the alphabet appear near the top of the page and feature both capital and lowercase forms. While most illustrations offer a clear-cut answer to what each letter represents in the sequence, there are a few pages that require some thought; an answer key can be found at the end of the book. VERDICT A brilliant caper that young learners will want to pore over! A must-purchase.—Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

School Library Journal

★ 2017-05-10
This (mostly) wordless book opens with the titular little red cat running out of his house toward an alligator with open jaws, and a chase begins. Here and on each page with a distinct, new alphabetical element that follows are printed only the upper- and lowercase initials of the relevant word: "Aa." A bear follows the alligator, followed by a chicken, then a dragon, and an egg, which issues from the startled chicken upon espying the dragon. Cat, alligator, bear, chicken, and egg (which has tiny, pipestem legs) all put on (sun)glasses to avoid the glare of the dragon's fire, ice skate across a frozen pond, swing on vines through a jungle, and so on. Befitting the quirky visual narrative, the letters are a surprising mix: L is for a "lost" poster with the cat's picture on it, R is for a restroom, T is for tired, and W for wave, as the characters bid one another adieu. There's humor in small details and large, as in the double-page spread in which the characters plummet off a cliff and the text screams: "Nnnnnnnn Oooooooo!" Thank goodness they deploy parachutes in the following spread, which requires readers to turn the book 90 degrees for its full effect. McDonnell's drawings use simple lines to generate action, and the background is a white expanse that keeps the focus on the colored line figures. A legend in the back identifies the specific words referenced by the letters. Give this book an F, yes, an F: for fun and funny. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews