KATE, THE CAT, AND THE MOON

In a delightful middle-of-the-night flight of freedom, Kate wakes up to a “Meow” and moonlight shining on her face. She tiptoes to the window. A cat is on the garden wall outside. “Kate smiled as she changed”; she touches her newly pointy ears and bounds down the stairs, becoming a cat on the way. Kate and the other cat run past “dreaming houses,” “empty roads and massive bridges . . . To a little hill with a stony top,” where they see the enormous moon—and a cat. They fly over dreamscapes. Back home, Kate changes back to a human as she jumps into bed. Asked the next morning whether she dreamed, the answer is a satisfied “Meow.” The slightly mystical quality of Almond’s text seems somewhat mismatched with Lambert’s gleeful but more solid visuals. One hopes that Almond will do more picture books with less grounded illustrations that let his odd spiritual tone show through; this one, meanwhile, is a lovely and safe adventure. (Picture book. 3-6)