A silly but useful, clever, and cheerfully illustrated feline tale.
A young domestic cat doesn’t understand why everything seems to be topsy-turvy in this picture book that spotlights a fun word.
Alycat, a pink dress–wearing, white-furred feline, wakes up on a very “cattywampus Wednesday” and finds that her family is having dinner for breakfast. When she gets on the school bus, she realizes that instead of her house being the first stop as usual, the vehicle is already full. At school, her locker combination only works if she puts it in backward; her classes are opposite their normal order; and her friend Luna is praised for spelling Louisiana starting with the last A. After a puzzling day, Alycat goes to bed, and the next morning, she is relieved to discover that her cattywampus Wednesday was just a dream. Readers familiar with cattywampus will find this engaging feline spin on the word amusing. For others, the introduction of the term, defined in the end pages (“Askew, kitty-cornered, abnormal”), may offer a new way of looking at confusing days. Sweet cat characters in Civati’s bright cartoon style will appeal to young readers. But the density of Bourque’s text and the sprinkling of complex vocabulary words (beignets, bewildered) may make this a better choice for the read-aloud crowd or strong, independent readers. Adults can utilize the story as a conversation starter for how to deal with situations that feel out of whack. Bourque’s list of what to do on a cattywampus day is full of giggleworthy cat puns.
A silly but useful, clever, and cheerfully illustrated feline tale.Pub Date: May 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4556-2648-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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