Children's book with cats who go to the zoo

[Meredith]

I remember as a kid having my grandmother read me a book about this three cats that think they are big cats - a lion, a tiger, and a panther? They go to the zoo to find the big cats. While they sorta look like mini versions of these big cats, they eventually decide that they like being regular cats better.

I'm guessing that this was a book they had from when my dad and his siblings were little. So maybe written in the 40s?

Thank you for any help you can provide!

[Meredith]

It's possible it was a Golden Book, though my search through Golden Books on GR or when I'm in second hand book stores hasn't led to anything.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Meredith--I hope someone ids this for you because I'd LOVE to add it to my Cats, cats, and more cats book collection.

[Meredith]

Meow.

[Cheryl]

Here's a (big) relevant Listopia: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/70...

Maybe ask the folks who created and/or are watching the list, by putting your query down in the comment section. Since it's old, someone may recognize it if you jog their memory.

[Meredith]

Thanks for the idea. I'll try that.

(I did see the links to Golden Books in another section and skimmed through the images, without luck.)

[Meredith]

Bump. (I did check with the folks of the fav children's books. They didn't recognize it, but did suggest asking here. :D )

[Cheryl]

I'm glad to see you're persistent. Sometimes these periodic bumps pay off years later.

[Meredith]

Still looking. It's stuck in my brain because my friend's long-haired orange tabby reminds me so much of the cat who thought he was the lion. :)

[Meredith]

Bump.

[Meredith]

No idea if it was popular, it just happened to be a book at my grandparents' home.

The style of drawing captured the essence of cats that look like mini versions of big cats, but it wasn't completely true to life. Which may be why I imagined it might be a Golden Book.

I remember the perspective of at least one page being so as the little cats looked up, the big cat looked even bigger to them.

[Cheryl]

bump ;)

[Meredith]

Thanks :)

[Meredith]

Bump. Thanks, all!

[Kris]

Kathleen Hale's "Orlando's Zoo"? She wrote a series of Orlando's Cat books. Here's a link with images - http://www.stellabooks.com/informatio...

"Orlando is a gorgeous marmalade cat with gooseberry-green eyes. Orlando, his wife Grace (a tabby cat) and their three children – snow-white Blanche, tortoiseshell Pansy and little black Tinkle – frolicked through some eighteen tales between the late 1930s and early 1970s. Kathleen Hale was a British author-illustrator, born in Scotland in 1898. She was a freelance artist before publishing the first of her ‘Orlando’ books, Orlando the Marmalade Cat: A Camping Holiday, in 1938..."

[Meredith]

Kris, thank you for the suggestion, as it appears to have been an adorable fanciful series, but Orlando's Zoo isn't the one I'm looking for.

The one I'm looking for, the art is different, though I don't have enough of an artist's language to explain how, exactly. And "my" cats don't wear clothes, etc.

Thanks again, though!

[Meredith]

Bump!

[Kim]

I remember that. We had it in our house, and it had been my stepdad's when he was a kid. Naturally, I can't remember the name of it either, but I'll be home later this week and will look for it.

[Kim]

It was Puss in the Zoo by Helen Thurston Monahan.

[Meredith]

Ooh, this is exciting. I'm going to see if I can't find a picture of the cover on line. Thank you for this lead, Kim!

[Meredith]

Sadly, Puss in the Zoo is not the book. Alas.

[Bonnie]

If you scroll down this page a bit, you'll see a book entitled "Little Tom and the Big Cats." Though, it's only one cat, not three. Originally published in '78.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/12627243...

[Meredith]

Bonnie,

Somewhat similar in what I recall of the art style and in the little black cat looking like the panther, but not the one.

(I do love the surprised look on the panther's face when the little black cat curls up in the cage with him. :D

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Cat Who Thought He Was a Tiger by Polly Cameron? From 1956.

A professional review says "a kitten refuses to have anything to do with his brothers and sisters because he thinks he is a tiger. One day he goes to the zoo, meets a real tiger, is set straight as to his own identity and returns home to live happily ever after as a kitten. The illustrations are humorous and are better than the slight, rather pointless text, which never indicates why the kitten thought he was a tiger. The text is written at an upper first grade reading level."

[Meredith]

Lobstergirl wrote: "The Cat Who Thought He Was a Tiger by Polly Cameron? From 1956.

Getting closer and closer! One thing this helped me clarify is that the art had all the background details, so it filled an entire page versus foreground only images in Cameron's book.

Thank you for helping with the hunt!

[Ayshe]

Sandy the tiger cat by Dora Castley?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/22889993...

These are google cached inside images (from seller site that doesn't appear to have the book currently)
https://www.google.bg/imgres?imgurl=h...
https://www.google.bg/search?q=%22SAN...

[Meredith]

Ayshe wrote: ""Sandy the Tiger Cat" by Dora Castley?

No, but gosh, that's similar!

[Ann]

Bump for Meredith.

[Meredith]

Ann wrote: "Bump for Meredith."


Thanks!

[Becca]

Not sure if you're still looking for this, Meredith, but it might be Wise Dog by Josephine Wright. There are only two cats, and they wish they were a tiger and an elephant, and end up in a circus. So not exactly as you remember but worth a guess!
There's a copy on archive.org here if that helps - https://archive.org/details/wisedog00...