Wanda Gág was a rebel. People don’t usually think of 1920s children’s book illustrators as rebels, but she was. In 1928, she released Millions of Cats, and honestly, children’s literature hasn't been the same since. It’s the oldest American picture book still in print. That’s nearly a century of staying power. Why? Because it’s weird. It’s dark. It’s repetitive in a way that haunts your brain long after you’ve closed the cover.
Most modern picture books are soft. They’re rounded edges and safety scissors. Millions of Cats is different. It’s sharp. It’s hand-lettered and moody. If you grew up with it, you probably remember the rhythm of the text before you remember the actual plot. "Cats here, cats there, cats and kittens everywhere." It sounds like a dream. In reality? It’s a bit of a nightmare.
The Weird History Behind the Millions of Cats Book
Wanda Gág didn't come from a typical background. She grew up in a German-speaking community in Minnesota. Her father was an artist who, on his deathbed, told her to finish what he started. No pressure, right? She struggled. She was poor. She spent years doing commercial art she hated before she finally got to do her own thing. When she wrote the Millions of Cats book, she brought all that European folklore grit with her.
The story is deceptively simple. An old man and an old woman are lonely. They want a cat. The man goes out to find one and finds... well, too many. He can’t choose. He’s indecisive, which is a very human flaw that leads to an absolute catastrophe. He brings home "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats."
Here is the thing about that specific phrasing. It’s a double-page spread. Gág pioneered this. Before her, books usually had a page of text and a separate page for the picture. She broke that. She let the art flow across the gutter. The hills are literally made of cats. It’s a visual representation of excess that feels overwhelming even to an adult.
Why the Ending Still Freaks People Out
Let's talk about the "cat fight."
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In most modern stories, when there’s a conflict, everyone learns a lesson and shares a snack. Not here. The cats get into a literal "survival of the fittest" brawl because they are all hungry and vain. They ask, "Who is the prettiest?" and then they proceed to—and this is factual—eat each other.
Sorta.
The book says they "ate each other all up" until only one scrawny, humble kitten was left. As a kid, you don't realize how metal that is until you’re thirty and reading it to your own child. You realize the hills were covered in millions of cats, and then, suddenly, they are just... gone. It’s a mass disappearance. It’s dark! It’s basically the Hunger Games but with fluffy ears.
The reason this works, though, is the art. Gág’s style is lithographic and heavy on the black ink. There is a "folk" quality to it that makes it feel like an ancient myth rather than a product of the Jazz Age. The Newbery Honor committee recognized it in 1929 because it was a technical masterpiece. It wasn't just a story; it was a revolution in how books were manufactured.
The Cultural Impact of the Millions of Cats Book
This wasn't just a win for Gág; it was a win for the entire concept of the "picture book." Before this, the "Golden Age" of illustration was dominated by British artists like Beatrix Potter or Arthur Rackham. Gág brought a distinctively American, yet deeply Bohemian, vibe to the table.
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- Hand-lettered text: Gág did the lettering herself. It wasn't typeset. This made the words feel like part of the drawing.
- The Double-Page Spread: She used the whole width of the book to show the passage of time and distance.
- Repetition as Hook: The "Millions and Billions" refrain is a proto-meme. It sticks.
The Millions of Cats book also reflects a very specific 1920s anxiety about "too much." We were entering a world of mass production. Having a billion of something sounds great until you have to feed them. The old man’s mistake is a classic cautionary tale about greed and the inability to make a choice.
Is it still relevant for kids today?
Honestly, yes. Kids are tougher than we give them credit for. They love the rhythm. They love the absurdity of a man followed by a literal sea of felines. They also understand the "ugly duckling" trope of the scrawny kitten who survives simply because he didn't join the ego-driven fight.
Some parents today find it a bit grim. There are discussions on Reddit and parenting forums every year about whether the "eating each other" part is too much. But if you look at the history of folklore—the Brothers Grimm, the original Perrault stories—this is exactly where children’s stories came from. They were meant to be a little scary. They were meant to prepare you for a world that isn't always fair.
How to Experience Wanda Gág’s Work Properly
If you're going to dive into this, don't just get a cheap digital version. The Millions of Cats book is a tactile experience. You need the physical copy to see the ink work.
- Look at the endpapers. Gág was meticulous about the design of the entire object.
- Read it aloud. The cadence is designed for oral storytelling. You’ll find yourself naturally chanting the "hundreds of cats" part.
- Visit the Wanda Gág House. If you're ever in New Ulm, Minnesota, you can visit her childhood home. It’s a museum now. It puts her work into a crazy perspective when you see the environment she came from.
The book is more than just a story about pets. It’s a piece of art history that survived the Great Depression, World War II, and the rise of the internet. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the simplest stories—the ones about a lonely old couple and a few (million) cats—are the ones that stick to our ribs.
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Actionable Insights for Collectors and Parents
If you are looking to add this to a library or use it in a classroom, keep these points in mind.
First, look for the anniversary editions. The 90th-anniversary edition does a great job of preserving the original lithographic look which can sometimes get "muddy" in cheaper reprints.
Second, use it as a teaching tool for "visual literacy." Ask a child how the artist shows "a lot" of cats without drawing every single whisker. Gág uses swirling lines and shapes to represent the crowd. It’s a masterclass in minimalism and maximalism at the same time.
Finally, acknowledge the "darkness" of the story. Don't skip the fight. Talk about why the little cat survived. It survived because it was humble. It didn't think it was the prettiest. In a world of social media and "main character syndrome," that is actually a pretty solid lesson to take away from a book written in 1928.
The Millions of Cats book remains a staple because it doesn't talk down to its audience. It assumes children can handle a bit of weirdness. And usually, they can. It’s the adults who are usually worried. The cats are long gone, but the story is permanent.