Trio: The Tale of a Three-Legged Cat

Part of a litter of four kittens, Trio was born with three legs, but it scarcely has an effect on his life. Trio and his siblings share a garage with 11 chickens, and it’s a mostly peaceful existence (though “the chickens didn’t altogether approve of the kittens’ activities, especially Trio’s”). Wisnewski emphasizes Trio’s determination in both her matter-of-fact narration and in sturdy linocut images colored in rusty red, warm yellows, and pale blues. Trio loves imitating the chickens’ habits, and after figuring out how to get up into their nesting beds (“Trio didn’t give up until he found a way”), he incubates a hatching egg. A chick pops out, eventually—“the fluffiest, cutest little chick... with one leg.” (Trio names the chick Uno.) Writing with tenderness and understated humor, Wisnewski portrays disabilities as a simple fact of life—the obstacles that Trio surmounts are less about physical limitation than about learning how to use his body to get where he wants to be. An author’s note details the story behind the real-life Trio. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)