KITTY CATERPILLAR

Part feline, part caterpillar, a pampered pet lives her best life.

“Kitty Caterpillar…was an indoor kitty, and she liked it that way.” As the book opens, readers are greeted by the sight of a lazily sprawled creature with a cheerful cat’s face, a pair of wispy antennae, an elongated fluffy pink-and-white body, and 10 exposed purple feet. Our feline protagonist may look unusual, but she demonstrates traits that every cat owner will recognize: a love of boxes (however small), a talent for pouncing, and plenty of attitude. Kitty Caterpillar happily naps whenever her owner, tan-skinned young Hazel, leaves the house, but one day she’s compelled to follow the butterfly she spots outside the window. Comedy ensues as she dons shoes (“just like Hazel”), tumbles down the stairs, and squeezes her way through the mail slot. Kitty Caterpillar’s alternately excited and terrified by the idyllic suburban setting awaiting her, and after getting caught in a rainstorm, she eagerly reunites with Hazel. Bondor-Stone and White deftly capture a cat’s point of view, mining humor from occasional puns and from the contrast between words and images. Exuding sweetness, Barrager’s pink-and-purple-hued illustrations deftly depict the lithe, ultra-expressive feline’s movements, whether mincing confidently through the house or huddled beneath a bush as she waits out the storm.

Purr-fect silliness.