Telling Time with Big Mama Cat

A snack at 9:00, a nap at 10:00, sneaking onto the forbidden chair at 11:00—telling time is the only way Big Mama Cat can remember all the important things she has to do. Follow Big Mama Cat from sunrise till day's end, and you can learn to tell time, too! A sturdy fold-out page at the front of the book reveals a clock with movable plastic hands. Young readers can change the time as Big Mama Cat moves from one adventure to the next in her busy day.

A cat describes her activities at various times throughout the day from morning to night. Features a clock with movable hands.

Learn how to tell time with the irrepressible Big Mama Cat! A snack at 9:00, a nap at 10:00, sneaking onto the forbidden chair at 11:00 - telling time is the only way Big Mama Cat can remember all the important things she has to do. Follow Big Mama Cat from sunrise till day's end, and you can learn to tell time, too! A sturdy fold-out page at the front of the book reveals a clock with movable plastic hands. Young readers can change the time as Big Mama Cat moves from one adventure to the next in her busy day.

Dan Harper lives with his wife, Cara Moser, and their three children in Massachusetts. Telling Time with Big Mama Cat is his first book.

Barry Moser is the prizewinning illustrator of dozens of beautiful books for children. His many honors include the American Book Award, and he has been highly praised by the American Library Association and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Cara Moser and her father, Barry Moser, have co-illustrated several books for children.

Publishers Weekly

A cat who knows how to tell time? "How else could I keep my busy day on schedule?" asks Big Mama Cat. Harper, in his first book, cleverly employs the cat narrator to recount a grueling schedule of napping, stretching, "prewashing" the dirty dishes and lingering nearby if a snack seems forthcoming. A page featuring a clock with movable plastic hands shows through the die-cut cover, and folds out so readers can move the clock hands to the times cited in the book. The handsome illustrations, composed by Cara Moser and painted in watercolors by Barry Moser (the father-daughter team also illustrated Eagle Boy: A Traditional Navajo Legend), capture expressions and poses that will be familiar to cat lovers: looking unrepentant as she is "helped down" from the forbidden new chair and licking her chops at the dinner table ("I'm not invited, but I grab a seat and look hungry"). One humorous spread shows the sly feline at the door, on the left, wanting to go outside at 10:30 a.m.; on the right, at 10:45 (displayed on a cat clock), she peers in from the outside and wants in--a tiny mouse pictured inside the house provides the explanation. With activities every hour, and sometimes more often, Big Mama Cat will likely succeed in teaching young cat lovers to clock their days with confidence. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

BARRY MOSER is the prize-winning illustrator of many beautiful books for children and adults, including Harcourt's Telling Time with Big Mama Cat and Sit, Truman!, both co-illustrated by his daughter Cara Moser and written by Dan Harper. He has won the American Book Award and earned accolades from the American Library Association and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Mr. Moser lives in western Massachusetts.