Big Cat, Little Cat facts for kids
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| Author | Elisha Cooper |
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| Illustrator | Elisha Cooper |
| Country | US |
| Genre | Picture book |
| Publisher | Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan Books |
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Publication date
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March 14, 2017 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | unpaged (32) |
| Awards | |
| ISBN | 978-1-62672-371-9 |
| OCLC | 1023776336 |
Big Cat, Little Cat is a children's picture book from 2017. It was written and illustrated by Elisha Cooper. The book tells a gentle story about a big white cat who welcomes a new black cat into a family. Later, the white cat passes away, and the story shows how the cycle of life continues when a new kitten joins the family.
This book was published by Roaring Brook Press, which is part of Macmillan Books. Critics really liked Cooper's drawings because they helped tell the story's important messages. The book received a special award called the 2018 Caldecott Honor.
Contents
What is Big Cat, Little Cat About?
The story begins with an older white cat living happily with a family. One day, a younger black cat joins them. The white cat is very welcoming to the new arrival.
As time passes, both cats grow older together. Eventually, the white cat dies. The family and the black cat are sad, but then a new white kitten comes to live with them. This shows how life continues in a comforting way.
How the Book Was Created
Elisha Cooper got the idea for Big Cat, Little Cat from his own life. He grew up on a farm, where he saw many animals come and go. This taught him about the natural "cycle of life."
As an adult, Cooper and his family adopted two cats. When one of them died, he noticed his daughter was less familiar with death than he had been as a child. This experience inspired him to write a story that could help children understand these feelings.
Unique Art Style
Cooper wrote the words and drew the pictures for the book at the same time. He said he loves how "words and images play off each other." He felt they work together like "good teammates" to make the story better.
Usually, Cooper uses watercolor paints for his illustrations. However, for Big Cat, Little Cat, he chose to use monochrome (black and white) images. He felt this style was a better fit for the book's themes. He also got ideas from another famous children's book, Kitten's First Full Moon, which also uses a simple, black-and-white style.
Big Cat, Little Cat was released on March 14, 2017. It was published by Roaring Brook Press, which is part of the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.
Art and Words in Big Cat, Little Cat
The drawings in the book are simple but have a special flow. The black-and-white pictures were a new style for Elisha Cooper. Some reviewers compared them to Japanese brush paintings. Cooper used thick, strong lines to make the cats look lively and full of personality.
Most of the drawings are black and white. But a few pages have colored backgrounds, mostly yellow, and one grey. These colors are used to show the cats' feelings. For example, a yellow background might show happiness, while grey might show sadness.
Powerful Storytelling
The book uses very few words. The first lines are often mentioned by reviewers: "There was a cat // who lived alone. / Until the day // a new cat came."
The story focuses on the cats without making them seem too human. They act like real cats. The friendship between the two cats is a main idea in the book. They teach and learn from each other. The human family in the story is only shown as dark shapes. But Cooper still makes it clear how everyone feels. For instance, you can tell how sad the black cat and the family are after the white cat dies.
The book explores important themes like loss and the natural cycle of life. It does this through the story's circular pattern. Many people have said the book has a "heart-healing message."
