While the cat’s adventures ultimately prove a bit ho-hum, the art and the cat’s joie de vivre are enticing.
Join a city cat on a vibrant nocturnal adventure.
While “lap cats are lazy cats, / who only sleep on hallway mats,” this “city kitty” would rather make a little noise out on the town! Told in catchy couplets, the poem catalogs the cat’s nighttime excursion through the urban environment, whether it’s meeting other feline friends to “catercall upon the wall” or starting a rollicking prowl for owls and pigeons. But while the cat narrator may be exuberant about its feline-centric exploits, human readers might be less enamored of what is essentially a rhyming list of generic, cat-related activities. Though the cat proclaims it a “night to sing about,” there is no grand adventure centering the narrative, and the unceremonious arrival of morning, announced when people start to “put the garbage out,” makes the cat’s night out—and the whole story—feel like a bit of a letdown. With wild, round goldenrod-colored eyes, a sleek striped body, and bottlebrush tail, the partying kitty gleams against the deep-black night sky and bustling cityscapes. Flat colors reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats’ palette allow the lit windows and cat silhouettes to shine, and the large-headed, sly-looking cats that move fluidly across the pages are perfectly matched to the playful rhythm.
While the cat’s adventures ultimately prove a bit ho-hum, the art and the cat’s joie de vivre are enticing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-912757-14-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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