MIND CONTROL!

A spotlight-seeking spy does not want to share the limelight.

In this follow-up to Agent 9: Flood-a-Geddon! (2021), Agent 9, a pep-filled (but often impetuous) feline spy with the Super-Secret Spy Service, is back with a new goal: to be recognized as Spy of the Month. When she is called in to save the world from a wicked wolf seeking a mind-control device, Agent 9 is positive she’s got the award in the bag. However, she learns she’ll have to work together with another agent named Traps, a mouse who is an expert tracker, trapper, and knitter. Annoyed and dismayed by the prospect of teamwork, will Agent 9 be able to work together with Traps to take down the wolf, or will her impulsivity get in her way once again? Burks’ sophomore offering is zippier than a roomful of kittens on catnip, with fast-paced, full-color wordless sequences. Her flaws on full display, Agent 9 is relatable; her desire to work independently and her subsequent realizations regarding teamwork and compromise will hit home for many readers. This is a fully self-contained adventure with a smile-inducing resolution, but a tantalizing cliffhanger will leave readers running for the next installment like a cat who hears a can opener.

A teamwork tale that is the cat’s meow.