Tally Cat Keeps Track

September 1, 2010

Gr 1-2-Tally McNally is obsessed with keeping score using tally marks. All day long the cat records who is the faster, smarter, smaller, taller, etc., and due to his sneaky ways, he wins every time. When Tom Cat declares himself the wettest during a rainstorm, Tally goes to extreme measures to prove he's even wetter and ends up in the sewer drain. Now his tallying comes in handy as he knows which cats to ask for help. In the end, all of his friends work together to pull him out, and Tally Cat ends his tallying ways. The final two pages feature an explanation of what tally marks are, how to use them, and how they are used by Tally Cat. This explanation could have been placed before the story for even better effect. The illustrations depict a bunch of street savvy, hip cats with great facial expressions. Andrew Harris makes the most of showing how much tallying Tally Cat does and gives readers ample opportunity to count the marks. Great extra touches include the classic cat "hang in there" motivational poster in the alley hangout. This concept book would work equally well in the classroom or at storytime.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2010
Tally McNally the alley cat keeps track of everything with tally marks: trees climbed, mice caught, races won. But his ultra-competitive nature leads him to sometimes cheat a bit so as to always be the winner. One rainy day when Tom Cat announces that he is as wet as a cat can get, Tally McNally rises to the challenge. But when Tally goes too far and finds himself washed down the gutter, he quickly 'fesses up so they will rescue him. It takes teamwork to get Tally out, and, when he emerges, one last tally shows readers that he has learned his lesson. Trudy Harris's rhyming verses have a kind of jazzy beat that fits with the alley cats. Andrew N. Harris's illustrations anthropomorphize his subjects, clothing them and giving them eyebrows and human-like eyes--both of which get a lot of use, especially when it comes to the other cats' putting up with the fraudulent tallies. Backmatter teaches readers how to use tally marks to count objects. Math and a lesson in friendship rolled into one. (Picture book. 5-8)

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