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Mittens, Newberry’s bestseller about a six- year-old boy whose ad for his lost kitten brings unex­pected results, was chosen as one of the Fifty Books of the Year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Her subtle humor, straightforward dia­logue, and simple plots were elemental to her success, Four of her works were named Caldecott Honor Books: Barkis (1938), about a sister’s spiteful antics which en­danger her brother’s new puppy April’s Kittens (1940), about a family who must resolve how they will keep an extra kitten in a one-cat apartment Marshmallow (1942), about a baby rabbit who endears himself to a confirmed bachelor cat and T-Bone the Baby-sitter (1950), about a usually reliable cat who experiences spring fever. In 1936, Mittens, the first of many books in which Newberry relied on her own cats and children as models, intro­duced her as an artist-illustrator who knew how to appeal to both young children and the parents who read to them. Her cats looked so alive they could have stepped out of her books. Her ownership, observation, and love of felines naturally led to her incorporating their antics and poses in her books: the tucked paws and pure contentment of a doz­ing cat the irritable tail twitch of a harried one the ornery, mischievous glare in a feisty cat’s eyes the frisky romping and tumbling of kittens.

In 1934 she turned to the subject that had fascinated her all her life and that became her hallmark: cats. While living in New York City, Newberry’s original plan to make her fortune in portraiture failed, but not her determination to make art her life’s endeavor. Herbert the Lion (1931), Newberry’s first picture book for children, met with immediate popularity and acclaim. In order to earn return passage, Newberry illustrated the story. In 1930, on the eve of her departure to study in Paris, Newberry wrote a story about a little girl, Sally, who adamantly wanted and received a lion for her birthday. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Newberry attended the University of Oregon for one year, then pursued but never completed her academic studies in art, finding that she worked best alone. As a child, she included them in all her drawings. Clare Turlay Newberry always lived with and loved cats.