LET'S GO, KITTY!

A kitten makes mischief in Rosensweig’s picture book.

A gray and white tabby kitten known only as Kitty shares a close bond with her human, a Black child who spends an eventful day with her. At first, he can’t find Kitty at all, but observant readers will notice her tail poking out of a cardboard box. Once properly reunited, the pair drink milk together (“Drink, drink, drink”), but not without incident: Kitty knocks over his glass (“push, push, push…”) and goes tumbling down with it, only to get covered in milk herself (“wet, wet, wet”). This does not deter her from further adventures as she leaps out of the house in pursuit of a pink ball of yarn that the child throws to her. She’s quickly distracted by insects and a dog that chases her all the way up a tree, necessitating rescue by the fire department. Rosensweig offers a highly effective narrative to a young audience working on their vocabularies (she provides a list of early communication tips in the book’s opening pages to enrich the reading experience as readers’ brains develop). Rutherford’s illustrations include fun details, like a sneaky mouse for kids to point out, and depict the only two humans as a Black child and a light-skinned, female-presenting firefighter.

A thoughtful board book for parents to share with little ones building language skills.