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CAT'S NEW FRIEND

Name: CAT'S NEW FRIEND
Author: Jialin Wang
ISBN: 9781605377742

by Jialin Wang ; illustrated by Ziying Jiang ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2023

A gentle reminder that true friendship means putting others first.

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Even a life filled with wild adventures, a cozy home, and plenty of food isn’t enough when there’s no one to share them with.

In need of a friend, Cat goes out and buys one—a fish in a bowl. But Fish hides in terror every time the bewhiskered face looms outside her world. Cat laughingly assuages Fish’s fears—he’s not going to eat her; he just wants a pal. Life is grand after that, and every day Cat tells Fish about his wonderful exploits…until he notices that Fish is wasting away. It turns out that living vicariously through Cat is not enough for poor Fish, who misses her family. He knows he’s going to miss her terribly, but Cat works out a way to get Fish back home again. Neither wants to lose their friendship, but they say goodbye and wish each other well. Later, Cat joyfully realizes he can still play with Fish in his dreams. Wang’s sweet story of an unlikely friendship touches on the importance of being sensitive to each other’s needs. Jiang’s detailed illustrations in soft pastels capture Cat and Fish’s life together. From Cat’s winsome home, which resembles a giant loaf of bread with a door shaped like a fish, to the welcoming tropical landscape, the perfect setting for a nearly perfect friendship shines through. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle reminder that true friendship means putting others first. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 4, 2023

ISBN: 9781605377742

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE LEAF THIEF

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2021

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.

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A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.

Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

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THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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DON'T TOUCH THAT FLOWER!
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)