Cats: Nature and Nurture by Andy Hirsch

Cats: Nature and Nurture Reviews

• 
  Diz

  This comic introduces kids to everything that they might want to know about cats. It covers the evolution and domestication of cats. There is a lot of information about the physical and psychological characteristics of cats as well. The art is really attractive and it deals with some of the more violent aspects of the nature of cats in a comical way. In one scene where a big cat it taking down large prey, the prey itself lifts up its head and makes a comment about how the artist shouldn't show the details because kids are reading it. Pretty funny! Even though the target audience of this book is kids, I think adults who love cats would really appreciate it as well.
• 
  Sean

  Fun, cute, and silly.
• 
  Carla

  This is another great addition to the Science Comics series. This book features wonderful illustrations with great information about how cats came to be the extremely popular pets we know and love. Bean, our narrator, is an adorable calico cat. By going back to the beginning of their appearance on earth, Bean teaches the readers about wild cats and domesticated cats. Even the evolution and genetic mutations and breeding of cats was shared in an interesting and somewhat humorous way. The information is interesting and presented in such a manner as to be accessible to both children and adults. It touches on behavior, genetics, evolution, habitats, and domestication/ It also shared what makes cats special, and answers some of the basic cat questions. How do their ears work? Why are their tongues like that? How do they always land on their feet? I was fascinated by the description and illustrations of how the "righting reflex" works. The discussion of nature vs nurture when it came to hunting was also quite interesting. The graphics are well done. They are colourful, a good mix of realistic and cartoony, and well used to help move the narrative along visually. Although this book is geared to children ages 8 and up, as an adult, I also found it quite interesting. This book would be a great addition to a classroom, school or public library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon my request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
• 
  Kate

  Well, this was cute and educational.
  
  I love cats. I love science. So, when I saw this on Netgalley it was a no-brainer to request a free ARC, and fortunately it was granted. I was unfamiliar with this series, so I went in blind, but the art was great, the biological and evolutionary science information was accessible, yet not overly dumbed down (as a PhD student who has taken a lot of science, I didn't feel like it was overly simple, but it would make sense to the masses, too), and it was a good length. The educational aspects were told within a clever story of an alley cat turned famous cat, which was a cute idea.
  
  The only thing I didn't love was that the story could've been more developed. I read most of it in one day and then came back to it the next day, and I thought I had accidentally jumped forward a bunch in my document because it was suddenly at the end and felt like a piece was missing. I went back a few pages to check if I had skipped something, and I hadn't. So, the ending was a bit abrupt. But that said, I loved it and I learned something new, so all in all, works for me.
  
  Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!
• 
  Theresa

  I read an ARC from First Second via NetGalley. I have read several books from the Science Comics series and some are better than others. This “cats” addition was a solid addition that was cute and informative. The illustrations were vibrant and I learned some new things about my favorite little carnivorous hunting machines. Middle school me would have loved this as a kid. I wanted a little more about the history of cats, but alas this is the science of cats, so it covered traits, genetics, domestication, breeding, etc. in a fun way. It has a nice intro in the front and a glossary with reference materials in the back. Best for grades 3-8.
• 
  Malapata

  Estupendo repaso a las particularidades, tanto físicas como de comportamiento, de los gatos. Pensado para los pequeños de la casa, pero interesante para todas las edades (si te gustan los gatos, claro).
• 
  Rick

  Cats. Cats. Cats. Everything a curious kid (or adult) could want to know about the (not completely) domesticated felines in our world. And even some interesting information about those felines that are at all domesticated. This is a fun-filled and entertaining read that is able to provide lots of information in small, digestible nuggets that should keep any readers interest.
• 
  Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS

  Wow! I learned so much. The students requested more of this series (we only had Trees), and they were so right. They all (Crows, Space, Rocks, etc.) were checked out immediately.
• 
  Julia Madeja

  nie dam 3 żeby nie obniżyć mu średniej oceny
  zaskakująco dużo dowiedziałam się o kotach przez to
• 
  Susan

  I love every single Science Comics that I've read! They are just AWESOME.
  
  This one has good info about how DNA/heredity works, too, so big win for me. Plus, come on, CATS!
• 
  David Schwan

  An overview of why Cats behave the way they do, and yes their claws are important. Learned a few things about felines that I was not expecting.
• 
  Becky B

  Narrated by a cat, this book provides a look at cat’s physical traits, habits, abilities and preferences, and genetics (with a little lesson on genetics and how that relates to domestic vs wild cats and different cat breeds).
  
  A nice graphic novel creatively told but very informational that tells you all about cats. I would’ve gobbled this up as a cat-obsessed middle grader or teen. I still enjoyed it. The science is very solid, and this would be an especially good supplemental read for anyone studying high school biology genetics. (The vocabulary may throw some unfamiliar with terms like genotype, phenotype, etc. Having taught more HS biology classes on genetics than I can count over the years I got things right away, but I know the average reader won’t. I’d venture a guess that the average middle grade or teen reader would skim that part, get some things but not much (unless they’ve already gone over these terms a few times), still enjoy the book, but would need more in depth teaching to really get what is being talked about. In my experience phenotype and genotype tend to boil the brains of average teens, and they need several different examples of each and how they relate to really understand.) This would be a great resource for someone doing a report on cats, a fantastic read for a curious reader, something a cat lover would swoon over, and an informative read appealing to graphic novel readers who may not normally touch nonfiction.
  
  Notes on content [based on ARC]: Some discussion of predation but nothing super gory on page.
  
  I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
• 
  Barbara

  This one, a much-needed addition to the Science Comics collection, focuses on felines and their innate nature. Guided by Bean, once a stray kitten living by her wits on the streets and now an Internet star--a nod to all those cat videos posted online--readers travel to various parts of the world to meet different types of cats to learn what they have in common and how they differ from one another. Much of the book explores whether cats truly are domesticated since they are equipped with various tools that allows them to fend for themselves if necessary. And it just might be possible that they have trained us instead of the other way around. As the book and foreword acknowledge, cats are essentially predators designed to hunt. This makes sense when we consider much of their behavior. Although I loved cats before reading this book, I came away from it feeling even more impressed by my feline friends. One of the most interesting parts of the book concerned how cats behave toward other animals with whom they've been raised. Even when the species is one that most cats would regard as a natural enemy or even prey, for instance, a rat, they tend to treat the animal as a sibling. Perhaps there is a solid lesson for all of us in this behavior and awareness.
• 
  Sarah

  Absolutely essential reading for anyone who has or loves cats! I've lived with them for most of my life and I still learned tons.
  
  This comic isn't just a fact dump; we follow the story of Bean, a homeless kitten turned internet celebrity, as she explains how her rise from survival to super-stardom couldn't have happened without her keen predatory instincts (nature) and ability to adapt to social environments from solitude to kitty crowds to beloved pet (nurture). It's a super cute way to get tons of information--and answers to so many questions I've had over the years but had just written off as adorable, inexplicable quirks.
  
  For those of you more canine-inclined, Andy Hirsch has also done a Science Comic about dogs. I haven't read that one, but I'd been looking forward to Cats ever since it first came up in the metadata audit seven months ago. I am delighted to say that it's so much more interesting and wonderful than I even expected. Go forth and learn!
• 
  Sesana

  A solid entry in the series. There's a fictional framing device, which is not something I love in this series, but it's very lightly used. The story of rescued cat Bean is used to walk readers through cat biology and behavior, and it does so in a fairly natural way. Hirsch does a great job of bringing in a huge variety of both domesticated and wild cats in the examples she uses. The science seems solid and is communicated clearly without dumbing it down. The art is cartoony without making the cats unrecognizable as what they are: a lion is clearly a lion, and looks very different from a cheetah.
• 
  Ellen Scheid

  Written for a juvenile audience, Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture is an informative, beautifully illustrated, and adorable comic that can be read by all ages. The story line follows Bean, a little calico kitten, as she explains all that she knows about cats and how she came to be a viral hit.
  
  When I saw this come across my desk at work I knew I had to check it out. Even though I have had cats all my life, I learned a great deal from reading this book. This is a great read for all the cat lovers out there.
• 
  Kelly

  Might have to purchase this for my non-fiction lover. Found Z reading it first thing in the morning - makes my heart happy. Already requested another in the series on her second-favorite topic: Coral Reefs!
  
  Illustrations really emphasize the information from the text - work hand-in-hand so readers develop understanding. Interesting tidbits about many cat species. Enjoyable and educational - the best pair!
• 
  Meredith Ann

  I'm a cat lady (as evidenced by the fact I have a cats tag on Goodreads) so of course I loved this. But I loved it from a librarian angle too! This is the first Science Comics book I've read, despite knowing about them for a while, and I hope to add this one to my branch's collection. These are a great way to get science into kids' hands in one of the most popular formats out there.
• 
  Kathleen Guinnane

  My students have been checking out the other books in this series and now I know why. Engaging comics with loads of facts. I learned quite a lot about cats, and I have owned cats my entire life! These books are fun but educational and they give the information in an understandable way without talking down to the reader. I realize that I will have to purchase the entire series for my library.
• 
  Melissa

  Boy I learned so much about cats - both wild and domestic - and how domestication and genes work - so cool! And I'm not even a cat person lol The illustrations were adorable (obviously, they're cats!) and it kept me hooked. The "plot" premise of interviewing a social media famous cat was funny enough but had a hilarious laugh-out-loud twist at the end.
• 
  Christa Van

  Loved this comic version of the science of cats. A great way to sneak in some educational content and, of course, CATS!
  
  I figured I would know most of the stuff covered within but learned plenty about breeds, the history of cats and humans, and the big cats. Lots of other interesting looking science comics to explore.
• 
  Sam

  Alrighty - so I’m definitely more of a dog person than a cat person in real life but this book was just as awesome if the Science Comics Dogs book. Honestly, I would say that this would be a great precursor to the dig book because it hits on the science of genetics in a slightly easier to access way - the dog book would then be a perfect spiral into more complicated aspects.
• 
  Angela

  I picked this book up when one of my students showed it to me in class (she knows I love cats). I was impressed by the artistry and also the amount of information that the author was able to condense and simplify for children. I would definitely recommend this to children 6+/anyone who is looking for some basic behavioral information about cats.
• 
  Ellon

  Well I love cats so I figured I'd enjoy this book (and I did!). It gives a lot of information (sometimes going on little tangents. I ended up learning about things I didn't expect in a book about cats like how eyes work, etc.). I do think that the flow is a little off in some places but it's still enjoyable. It's narrated by a stray cat turned internet sensation.
• 
  Tracyesine

  This book is full of fascinating facts about cats! Some of the presented concepts (such as potential undomesticating effects of TNR) were new to me (an adult), and my seven year old got an enormous amount out of it. The format is highly entertaining, as well.
• 
  Elizabeth Sund

  Felicity LOVED this book. I read a lot of it with her and I agree that it was fun and educational. I wish it had more citations for some of the stranger factoids, but it was just the right amount of information for an 8-year old.
• 
  Aldene

  My kids love this science comic book so much we have read it three times so far this year. they so far also really like volcanoes, Plagues, Bats, and polar bears. we have coral reefs but they have not gotten into it as much as the cats one.
• 
  Pug

  There was a lot of interesting facts in here, and I learned a lot about cats, both wild and domestic. A solid, scientific, and informative graphic novel. Although, oddly, I found Bean (the kitty narrator) quite annoying. A real know-it-all.