When Mr. Portly finds a tiny orange kitten behind the sofa while vacuuming, he and Mrs. Portly raise her as the baby they’ve always wanted. They “treated Minifred just like a child, and so she behaved like one. She did not like rules.” A precocious thing, she walks at five months and talks at six, and pretty soon the pink-frocked kitten starts school—where she’s just as bad at obeying rules as she is at home. Gerstein milks the absurdity for all it’s worth, vigorous linework and vivid colors lending zing to Minifred’s shenanigans. Her keen green eyes find one rule she can follow, leading to a resolution that will satisfy kittens everywhere—if not their parents and teachers. (Picture book. 5-8)
