Daniel Pinkwater's absurdist picture book follows a family who acquires a pet kitten named Wuggie Norple, only to discover that their new pet grows at an alarming rate. Each day, the father brings home another animal—a goose, a goat, a cow—so the family can compare Wuggie Norple's current size to something. The kitten keeps growing, the comparisons keep coming, and the humor escalates through pure commitment to an increasingly ridiculous premise. Tomie dePaola's illustrations perfectly match Pinkwater's deadpan absurdity, rendering the escalating animal menagerie with warmth and visual wit. The book works on multiple levels: young children enjoy the simple pattern of escalation and the silly situation, while adults appreciate the satirical elements—the family's determination to normalize the abnormal, the father's methodical approach to an insane problem. Pinkwater's distinctive voice, which treats nonsense with complete seriousness, introduced many readers to the pleasures of absurdist humor. The story resolves with characteristic Pinkwater logic, which is to say no logic at all—the ending satisfies emotionally while refusing to make rational sense. This collaboration between two masters of children's literature creates a book that rewards repeated readings, with new absurdities revealing themselves as children grow into the layers of humor.