Not a Cat: A Memoir
- Downloads：7427
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-26 01:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Winter Miller
- ISBN：0884488799
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Between his opening greeting and the bookend closing page on which he stalks away after taking no questions， Gato wants to make one thing perfectly clear: Although he has four legs， two ears， and a long， long tail， the word “cat” does not define him。 His identity is his alone to describe and determine。 With the help of Danica Novgorodoff’s laugh-out-loud illustrations， he takes us on a tour of his adventures， accomplishments， and daily activities that makes mincemeat of our first impressions。 He wears a sweater and a leash， so is he a dog？ He runs in pastures， so is he a horse？ He likes flowers， so is he a bee？ He swims， so is he a duck？ He has flown in airplanes and ridden in subways， so is he a person？ Maybe he’s all those things， but what he truly is， he wants us to know， is Gato。
To underline the story’s message of empowerment and self-identity， the back cover and backmatter include photos of the real Gato （Winter Miller’s cat） doing everything he claims and more。 Signs on walls， headlines in newspapers， New Yorker cartoon homages， and sight gags on every page reward repeated readings and will make this book the first one that parents reach for at bedtime。
To underline the story’s message of empowerment and self-identity， the back cover and backmatter include photos of the real Gato （Winter Miller’s cat） doing everything he claims and more。 Signs on walls， headlines in newspapers， New Yorker cartoon homages， and sight gags on every page reward repeated readings and will make this book the first one that parents reach for at bedtime。
Reviews
Jamie Sanders
，
A very special cat （or more than a cat） in a very special book。 Inventive， funny and necessary。A great way to gently open up the door for a child to discover who they are。 And to maybe discover they are more than they seem。 Like Gato。 Gorgeous， playful illustrations。
Oliver Butler
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Really- when I think about all the things I wanted to be and how I think maybe they’re impossible， GATO teaches me that we can be who we want by thinking outside of the small frames we place or others place around us。 I love this book。 Instant classic。 Artwork is beautiful and so joyful！
Dan Schwartz
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Not a Cat: a memoir is a soaring playful book about the life of Gato， a soulful traveler who journeys far and wide experiencing life without the constraint of being defined。 Lushly illustrated， Gato's story （as channeled through Winter） brings up the idea of seeing existence through different lenses。 A wonderful book and message！ Not a Cat: a memoir is a soaring playful book about the life of Gato， a soulful traveler who journeys far and wide experiencing life without the constraint of being defined。 Lushly illustrated， Gato's story （as channeled through Winter） brings up the idea of seeing existence through different lenses。 A wonderful book and message！ 。。。more
Lorna Brown
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Kudos Winter Miller。 Someone obviously read Winter Miller a lot of books when she was a child。 'Not A Cat" has perfect pacing， isn't cluttered with unnecessary words， and left me with a warm smile。 The message that you are unique is an important one to start learning early in life。The illustrations are wonderful。 My favorite is inside the subway car。 Kudos Winter Miller。 Someone obviously read Winter Miller a lot of books when she was a child。 'Not A Cat" has perfect pacing， isn't cluttered with unnecessary words， and left me with a warm smile。 The message that you are unique is an important one to start learning early in life。The illustrations are wonderful。 My favorite is inside the subway car。 。。。more
Stevi
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We've loved following Gato's adventures for years so when we got the chance to purchase his memoir as told to his human we were here for it！ I love the message it gives that just because you're you doesn't mean that you need to be labeled any one way。 You can BE all the YOUS you are and be joyous and happy about it。 If only everyone could be more like Gato。 We've loved following Gato's adventures for years so when we got the chance to purchase his memoir as told to his human we were here for it！ I love the message it gives that just because you're you doesn't mean that you need to be labeled any one way。 You can BE all the YOUS you are and be joyous and happy about it。 If only everyone could be more like Gato。 。。。more
Elizabeth Grey
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This book is the coolest ever。
Mel Hudson-nowak
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Children’s books provide an important tool for parents and educators to share lessons and create a vision for the world as it is and how we want it to be。 “Not a Cat” tells a story of refusing to let your identity be boxed in by the outside world， allowing you to define yourself。 This book is a powerful path to empowerment and I look forward to sharing it with the young people in my life。 （It’s just too bad my own children are already adults — otherwise it would be in regular rotations。）
ScissorsAndStories
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Another children’s book encouraging gender confusion and narcissism。 See other works by this author， the agenda is clear。
Ramona Rose
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This is a delightful story about an adventurous cat （or duck？ Or person？）。 The illustrations a gorgeous and the message about self-definition is wonderful for young kids。 A charming read all around！
Al Norman
，
Is this a book about a cat？ Of course not。 Gato is not a cat。 He’s part dog。 He’s part cow。 He’s a bird。 He’s a plane。 But He is not Superman。 This cat can be anything—and that’s the point。 This book leads to great discussions with kids， because it floats off the page with questions！ Who or what is this Gato who rides the subways and mingles with the stars in Hollywood？ The answer at the end of the book is powerful and freeing。 Find yourself， yourself。 This is an adventure we should all take，
Anna Morrison
，
My grandsons， age 2， 3， and 14， loved this sweet book， with such a loveable cat and illustrations that engage adults as well as kids （the child in the stroller is reading The New Yorker， the cat is reading the Mew York Times）。 Loved this book。
Kate Frometa
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Such a great story with fun illustrations。 It’s quickly become a favorite in our house！
Jill
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Gato is a cat。 Or maybe he’s not。 He likes flowers， just like bees。 He likes to swim， just like ducks。 He likes to jump around in fields， just like rabbits。 But he’s a cat。 Gato has been on airplanes and subways。 He even drove a taxi。 But he’s a cat。 Or， he’s a cat， plus all the other things he wants to be。 He doesn’t let anything hold him back。 He doesn’t care what others think。 Gato’s going to live his best life， no matter what anyone else thinks， and his journey is an inspiration。 Not a Cat: Gato is a cat。 Or maybe he’s not。 He likes flowers， just like bees。 He likes to swim， just like ducks。 He likes to jump around in fields， just like rabbits。 But he’s a cat。 Gato has been on airplanes and subways。 He even drove a taxi。 But he’s a cat。 Or， he’s a cat， plus all the other things he wants to be。 He doesn’t let anything hold him back。 He doesn’t care what others think。 Gato’s going to live his best life， no matter what anyone else thinks， and his journey is an inspiration。 Not a Cat: A Memoir is a love letter to Gato from his pet parent， playwright Winter Miller。 Charmingly illustrated by Danica Norgorodoff， this short book is a celebration of Gato’s life and spirit。 Miller draws on Gato’s experiences to show children how they can be whoever they want to be， and it’s a winning message from a grinning cat。 I thought Not a Cat was an adorable picture book with a strong message for kids。 I loved hearing about all of Gato’s adventures， and the artwork is filled with energy and movement and imagination。 I was hoping to learn more about his relationships， especially with his pet parent， but other than that， I thought it was a lovely book， and it will be a great addition to bedtime reading。 Egalleys for Not a Cat; A Memoir were provided by TvS Media Group， with many thanks。 。。。more
Anita
，
I loved this book！ A wonderful cat…or not， and a great message for everyone！ Written skillfully and in perfect meter for reading out loud。
Berry J。
，
LOVE this book！！！
Nicole
，
The illustrations are adorable， and I loved the story and message！
A。
，
A charming reminder not to judge books by their cover -- just because you APPEAR a certain way doesn't mean you must act/think/behave a certain way。 A good you-do-you book for nonconformists。 A charming reminder not to judge books by their cover -- just because you APPEAR a certain way doesn't mean you must act/think/behave a certain way。 A good you-do-you book for nonconformists。 。。。more
Jilanne
，
Funny and engaging。 A great way to start the conversation about who you are。 How you can be many things， and not necessarily how your external self presents to the world。 I really enjoyed the illustration style， its varying perspectives and playfulness。 I think kids will like this sassy cat， too。 I also liked how the cat， Gato， directly addresses the reader with very specific questions， an effective way of pulling kids in。 My review is based on reading an electronic version。
Barbara
，
Based in part of the adventures and identity of the author's very own cat， this picture book follows Gato as he dismisses any assumptions that readers may have that he is a cat。 While it's true that he possesses many feline attributes， he also enjoys some of the same activities as dogs and ducks and has had many adventures。 Feline-lovers will recognize Gato's cocky attitude and the truth to his statements， and many readers will gravitate to his message of empowerment and encouragement to be true Based in part of the adventures and identity of the author's very own cat， this picture book follows Gato as he dismisses any assumptions that readers may have that he is a cat。 While it's true that he possesses many feline attributes， he also enjoys some of the same activities as dogs and ducks and has had many adventures。 Feline-lovers will recognize Gato's cocky attitude and the truth to his statements， and many readers will gravitate to his message of empowerment and encouragement to be true to oneself or as the needlepoint on the wall in the last image proclaims， "YOU BE YOU" （unpaged）。 Maybe， just maybe， it's possible to be all these things whether you're a cat or a human。 Plus， you get to decide how you will be defined， not someone else。 The colorful illustrations bring the story to life with a variety of shapes， sizes， and witty headlines on the page with Gato peeking over his copy of The Mew York Times: "West 86th Street Cats Say No to Dry Food，" "Cats Gain Two More Congressional Seats，" "Catnip Legalized on All 7 Continents，" all unpaged。 The facing page consists of a close-up of Gato's face， glasses perched on his nose， and whiskers bristling。 Readers will appreciate having two photos of the real Gato on the back endpapers。 After reading this memoir， my own cats find they have a lot to live up to。 。。。more
Alisa
，
This was fine。 Interesting ideas to think about and talk about with kids。 Just because you do something like a ---- doesn't mean you are a ----。 Illustration style didn't really do it for me This was fine。 Interesting ideas to think about and talk about with kids。 Just because you do something like a ---- doesn't mean you are a ----。 Illustration style didn't really do it for me 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Not a Cat: A Memoir
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Not a Cat: A Memoir&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Not a Cat: A Memoir&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0