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THE CAT WAY

Name: THE CAT WAY
Author: Sara Lundberg
ISBN: 9780802856333

by Sara Lundberg ; illustrated by Sara Lundberg ; translated by B.J. Woodstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2024

A lovingly told exploration of compromise that leads to a new outlook on life.

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Stepping outside of one’s routine brings new experiences.

An unnamed, pink-skinned human, clad in a plaid shirt and green trucker hat, and a black-and-white cat go for their usual walk. When the cat begins romping with another feline, the human decides it’s time to go. “Why are you always in charge?” asks the chagrined cat, and the human devolves into an existential crisis before coming to a decision: The next walk will be led by the cat. The following day, the human experiences life through the cat’s eyes as she chases butterflies and squirrels into a densely wooded area. The human, finding it difficult to see amid the brambles, falls off a small cliff: “I don’t want to be here anymore.” As the cat comforts her owner, the human marvels at the night sky, filled with luminous yellow stars, shown in a gatefold spread, and realizes that it’s OK to take the “usual route” but also necessary to “get lost” sometimes. Lundberg sets her story in a surreal setting that’s grounded in reality (the apartment complex echoes an M.C. Escher painting in one particularly mournful spread), and many human characters have elongated limbs. The stunning, saturated watercolor and gouache illustrations, in tandem with the thought-provoking text, translated from Swedish, chart the emotional journey of both human and cat as they discover that changing things up can result in fresh perspectives.

A lovingly told exploration of compromise that leads to a new outlook on life. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024

ISBN: 9780802856333

Page Count: 66

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIRD IN ME FLIES
by Sara Lundberg ; illustrated by Sara Lundberg ; translated by B.J. Epstein

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)