ANG ITIM NA KUTING (The Black Kitten) - Philippine Book

Vizcarra, N. (1996). The Black Kitten. Philippines: Adarna House, Inc.

In this picture book, Ignacia the kitten is saddened when she is shooed away by all the humans. This shunning is because Ignacia is a black kitten and, according to superstition, black cats bring bad luck. Ignacia decides that the only way to stop this prejudice is to introduce herself to the next person she meets so that they will see she is not bad luck. Ignacia prepares a speech highlighting all of her good qualities and why a person should adopt her for a pet. When Ignacia meets a little girl, she delivers her speech and finds a new home. This story encourages the reader to accept people for who they are and not to believe in stereotypes or prejudices. Nobody show more liked the little kitten because they believed she was bad luck even though not one single person took the time to get to know her. This book encourages people to get to know a person before passing judgment. This book is a Salanga Writer’s Prize winner.

The Black Kitten would be an excellent tool in an early elementary school classroom. It can be used to teach about acceptance of different people. An activity the class could do is to have all the students write down some of their good qualities and then share it with the class. This will allow the students to see that everyone has something that is good about them. This could be an excellent activity to have at the beginning of the year for students to get to know each other. show less

Children's Books #3

Vizcarra, Natasha. Ang Itim na kuting (The Black Kitten). Philippines: Adarna House, 1996

Characters: Agnacia, the black kitten, and a young girl

Setting: In a small village town

Theme: Acceptance, love, human and animal relationships

Genre: Picture book, fiction

Golden Quote: "I don't want you to be my nursemaid," she told Agnacia with a kiss. "I want you to be my friend."

Summary: A black kitten tries to find a home, but is shooed away by several women who are afraid that she will bring bad luck, or is a ghost spirit. She becomes very sad, but decides to draw and color pictures to prove her worth to someone who will accept her. She meets a girl at the end of the street and immediately begins to persuade the girl to take show more her in, and provides her with many, many things that the kitten can do for the human. The girl agrees to take in the black kitten out of love, not because of the things that kitten can do for her. The girl and the kitten are both happy at the end.

Audience: Young children, aged 3-7

Curriculum ties: Basic reading comprehension, visualizing, connecting to the characters

Awards: 1996 PBBY Writer's Prize and 1996 PBBY Illustrator's Prize

Personal Response: I was impressed with the way the illustrator was able to show the facial expressions on the women who were afraid of the kitten. The pictures and the words were successful at making the reader really connect with the way the kitten is being treated. Rejection is very difficult for some people to accept, but I liked how the kitten went off and participated in some creative activities and didn't allow her self esteem to be damaged by the reactions of the people who didn't like her. It was a very sweet story. show less

Vizcarra, Natasha. (1996). The Black Kitten. Philippines: Adarna House, Inc.
This story is about a black kitten named Ignacia that is unwanted by the people in her neighborhood because she is a black kitten. She meets different people and tries to convince them that she is a good kitten and should be given a chance. She finally meets a little girl that accepts her for who she is.
I found this story on the International Children's Digital Library and it was originally written in Tagalog (Filipino). It was a little difficult to be engaged in the story having to read it online. The illustrations looked good but it was also difficult to appreciate them fully being that they were online. The basic story premise of acceptance was good but I show more never fully appreciated it. show less