Kitten for a Day

by Paul Keat

A puppy has trouble doing some of the things his new friends, the kittens, are able to do

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Dogs, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Denise Lauron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this let's pretend book. The story and illustrations would definitely appeal to a small child. It helps with the lesson about getting along with your buddies.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd seen all of Keats' wonderful books for children, but this was a new one for me. It's a cute tale about a mischievous pup who thinks he's a kitten, or at least pretends to be, while he plays with a willing litter of tiny kitties. Caution: it's pretty adorable. It's entirely possible that "Awws" will be uttered.

[Bant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitten for a Day is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, which tells a story about a puppy who pretends to be a kitten for a day.

The text is virtually non-existent – there are a few words and most of them are onomatopoeia – the story is entirely told in illustrations and the reader’s imagination. It is a tale of a puppy playing with four kittens as it was a kitten. The illustrations are wonderfully depicted and beautifully rendered.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Four kittens are met by a puppy, who thinks it's a kitten, so they decided to play with each other – kitten style. However, this new "kitten" is doing kitten things rather oddly. It is a wonderful book filled with beautiful illustrations that is rather too cute for words. In the end, the puppy has to leave with its mother and tells the kittens that the next time they should pretend to be puppies and leaves with its mother.

All in all, Kitten for the Day is a wonderful children's book about a puppy and four kittens who meet, become friends, and play like kittens for the day.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very sweet little story about a puppy who joins some kittens to play one day. He kinda sorta thinks he might be a kitten but isn't quite sure about things like that yet, and he tries with mixed success to join them in their kittenish activities. I use the word "story" loosely, because the books has almost no words, other than some sound effects. A book like this encourages a small child to "read" or tell the story and offer commentary on it. I have read a number of Keats's books, and I was surprised to learn that he illustrated it, because the artistic style is very different from what I'm accustomed to in Snowy Day or Whistle for Willie. It has a comforting affect with soft lines and warm colors which would lend it to a little lap-sitter, but it might entertain a Story Time group as well. I wish I had known about this book when my children were small, because I think they would have gotten a real kick out of it. Very cute kittens, and very silly puppy.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why so underrated? Because it doesn't meet the expectations of fans of Peter's neighborhood? Yes, this is Keats too... give it a chance. Such a funny and heartwarming exploration of the idea of imaginative play. And look at the details: the mouse, the walking on the chair backs, the kittens consoling the puppy when it gets hurt.

So much for you and your child to talk about. For example, would you like to be a kitten? What would be easy for you to do? Would you like to be a puppy? What would be difficult for you to do? Do you think your cousin would be a good kitten, or a naughty puppy, or something else? Can people who are different play together, like kittens and puppies can?

Pair with Pssst! Doggie--. to see a cat and a dog do imaginative play together.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A puppy joins in with a litter of kittens to spend the day. The puppy makes an awkward kitten, but the kittens never say anything. At the end, the puppy's mother comes for the puppy.

There are few words and many of them are sounds (lapping/slurping milk, etc.).

There are no humans in this story.

A nice counterpoint to The Ugly Duckling.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally ADORABLE is this almost wordless title originally copyrighted in 1974 written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. Reading this title as an ebook was a joy as I could focus on the illustrations closely. The playful and joyful illustrations carry the story of four kittens and yes a puppy playing together.
What a joy filled way to begin my day.

[Jenese Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so cute because a dog thinks he is a kitten and plays along with four other kittens. The illustrations are great and colorful. I really enjoyed reading this book and would like to read others.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple with few words per page. Cute.

3/22/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read with my 4yo and 6yo

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much to this one.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friendly puppy gets to spend the day with four playful kittens, and experience first hand what's it like to be a kitten for a day. Good times were had, and friendships and memories were made.

[Olive]

Olive is very charmed by this simple, sweet book. It makes her guffaw. I don't totally get it.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner from Keats, with great illustrations and a nice little story, one of the champions of the picture book indeed!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, and not a lot of text so easy for pre-readers to follow on their own.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent word to page ratio

[English 212 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about being able to be whatever you want to be and not being judged for it. All the kittens did not notice a difference in the puppy, and they let him play along just as they would have with other kittens. I think this book much like children shows how much society puts on labeling things. Children, just like the animals do not know the difference and they do not care that there is one, they all get along and have fun. I think this also shows how anyone, no matter how different can be a part of any group. I thought the message in this was very important. At the end i loved how when the puppies mother came to get him, he says lets all be puppies next time because anyone can be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do. Messages like these allow children to be more free in their choices rather than just sticking to the people and things they know and are comfortable with. I think the use of animals and very few words makes this an ideal fit for its intended age group. I think the theme of the book is what made it worthy and would probably use this as a more one on one reader rather than in a group. Books with fewer words make them hard books to read aloud because children are not hearing voices and expressions, one imagining what is happening based on the pictures. I really like the simplicity of a kittens and puppies and having them all act as one and take care of each other no matter their differences.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute!

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heart of this short picture book is in the spirit of the puppy who isn't afraid to try living a new kind of life with his friends the kittens, and the willingness of the kittens to accept the intrepid puppy as one of their group just as if he looked like a cat. There is harmony among the naturally antagonistic creatures, showing something of the kind of peace that can be enjoyed by people if we put aside our reflexive judgment of others and simply play together nicely.

Author/illustrator Ezra Jack Keats has the right kind of idea with this book. Best of all, his stories tend not to be an end in and of themselves; rather, they act as a bridge to the minds of readers who let the ideas expressed within the pages take them beyond the borders of their regular thinking. Ezra Jack Keats is better at that than most picture book creators. I would give at least one and a half stars to Kitten for a Day.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has very few words & I had 2 little girls and their parents at the beginning of PJ Storytime & I was able to have them totally engrossed in the story and that drew about 6 more children over.

A little puppy joins some kittens and pretends to be a kitten with limited success. 8/7/12

Used in Baby/Toddler and it was quite well received, except a page had been torn out. I need to find the time to check out the books I order for programs before I use them.

Maybe not the best for a large group...

[Melle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations for this are breathtakingly adorable. A little floppy-eared creature befriends four kittens, one of whom is a little black-and-white kitten with curious green-gold eyes like Zelda. The kittens try to do kitten things with this new maybe-kitten, who doesn't do so well at the kitten things. 'cause he's an adorable little hound dog-looking puppy. An adorable book about confusion, trying, failing, and then finding out who you really are.

Zelda wanted in on the action and tried to put the whole book in her very small mouth.

[Yasmin Gomez Geng]

In this book, a puppy finds a few mischievous kittens and hands out with them. The puppy and kittens begin in a bowl that the puppy tilts while trying to join the kittens. The kittens ask the puppy if he is a kitten, to which he replies "Uh-huh, I think so." And so begins a day of kitten activities and a few minor bumps along the way.

The illustrations give a sense of coziness and comfort, and the shenanigans into which the kittens and puppy get into are hilarious.

Grade: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
Topics: Animals, Playing with Others, Getting Along

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a puppy being a kitten for the day. This picture book has amazing illustrations and shows students the perspective of a puppy's day when he's living the life of a kitten. It's always interesting to use books with unique perspectives. The story has little words, and mostly told through pictures.

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, cute illustrations! Simple text tells the story of a puppy who spends the day playing with four adorable kittens. There are great engagement opportunities - my story time audience loved counting the kittens, spotting the mouse that appears part way through the story and laughing at poor puppy as he is less than successful at acting like a kitten!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohfercute. A puppy thinks he's a kitten, and has a fun day playing with four little cats. This would be a great book for my wiggly little story time kids. There's not much text, so it would be great to share with my group. Most of them are between 1 and 3.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea that this little gem of a book existed until recently. Now I am so in love with the ridiculously adorable illustrations and the sweet, simple text.

Oh, and my six-year-old son loved it, too.

[Torrie Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book for Jumpstart. There are very few words in the book and the pictures really tell the story. I believe this book is a great way to teach students that it is okay to try new things and to take turns.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Compared to many of Keats' earlier works that experiment with pencil, collage and watercolor, this book is not visually interesting and the text brief. As Lu loves kittens and dogs, she enjoyed looking at the pictures, but there is little else going for this bland work.

[Kaylee Bostick]

A puppy decides that he wants to be a kitten for the day and realizes that it is very hard to do. I would use this in a kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the year during writer's workshop. This would demonstrate to early writers the use of captioning illustrations when creating stories.