Three Little Kittens

From the Puddles to the Pie - Will Mother Be More Upset By the Puddles or the Missing Mittens?

The cats and kittens in this illustration are portrayed to look just like real cats that happen to be dressed in clothing, walk upright, and act like humans. In the previous scene, the mother cat is looking out at the kittens through a window. Snow and winter clothing indicate a clear need for the kittens to wear mittens. The kittens have realistic tails poking out of their snowsuits, wear rubber boots, and seem to have worried expressions on their faces as they come in to tell their mother of the lost mittens. The kittens seem undifferentiated as to gender, although one kitten is wearing a blue snowsuit, mittens, and scarf (which has been thrown on the floor). The mother cat wears an apron and oven mittens when holding the pie. There is a wonderful use of bold primary colors here. On a humorous note, the previous illustration shows a large snowman visible out the window, in the shape of either a very large mouse or possibly a cat. The yellow color of the wall is in both images. Here the kittens are reaching up excitedly towards the mother cat who is holding a just-baked pie (there is evidence to this of a rolling pin and a bowl of flour on the table). She is the picture of domesticity. We may be surprised to see Mother Cat unconcerned over the puddles they have made in the kitchen from tracked in snow. The kittens are facing away from the viewer, so it is impossible to see emotion on their faces. The mother cat's facial expression is neutral in both scenes. The illustrations have a traditional, homey feel about them. The cut-marks on the pie add to the precise, uncluttered visual style. The text has a more contemporary feel to the line “that we have found our mittens” in contrast to that in several older versions such as the version in Lavender’s Blue: A book of Nursery Rhymes by L. Lines, The Baby’s Lap Book by K. Chorao, and Mittens for Kittens and other Rhymes about Cats by L, Blegvad. This version is the shortened form and, therefore, the rat is absent.