THE TWELVE CATS OF CHRISTMAS

There’s no better gift for Christmas than a cat, right?

Everyone who celebrates Christmas can sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” but what about the 12 cats? “On the first day / of Christmas, / my true love gave to me / A kitten under the tree.” On the second day, that true love gives two more felines (for a total of three), and these are “batting bows.” Each day, another cat is added, and they all (kitten under the tree included) perform a different catly act: purring, sitting in boxes, clawing at wrapping paper, running after ribbons, watching snow fall. After each new cat arrives, the text counts back to that one kitten under the tree. As one would guess, when the rhyme gets to 12, the cats are climbing the tree, and the countdown ends with the original kitten sleeping under the result of the mayhem. Flores’ adaptation of the English carol will have feline fans giggling merrily, but Liao’s mixed-media illustrations, which resemble watercolors, are the real stars of the show. The expressive, hyperactive pusses doing nothing but being cats are a hoot. At the close, the cats from the illustrations are each introduced by name with their likes and dislikes. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Festive feline tomfoolery.