GRUMPY CAT

Not knowing how to make friends, Cat spends all of his time alone until a powerful thunderstorm deposits a bedraggled kitten at his feet. Using every beguiling behavior Kitten can muster, she single-mindedly pursues a friendship with the elder cat. Cat’s best instincts rise to the fore when he rescues Kitten from a branch too slender to hold her weight. Cat cements their burgeoning relationship with a few reassuring licks and a fresh fish. “They had each found a friend. And Cat was never grumpy again. . . . / Well, almost never.” Too predictable and sweet? No, because very young children facing a critical developmental task—being brave enough to make friends—should find this perfectly on target. The large trim size and the illustration’s bold forms and vibrant colors make this perfect for group sharing. With luck, children will find the drama so engrossing that they will not notice the inconsistencies in Cat’s facial markings: Sometimes Cat has four stripes on the right and three on the left and sometimes they are reversed. (Picture book. 2-4)