A sweet concept belabored in the execution.
In Toole’s picture book, a dog becomes confused and unhappy when his owners name him “Cat.”
Tad, a white-skinned, brown-haired young boy, goes with his family to the animal shelter to choose a dog. Just as Tad is selecting a pup, his infant sibling calls out “cat”—so that is what they name the little dog. Cat is happy with his new family until he meets other animals (a mouse, a fish, a bird) who are perplexed by his name. All insist that he isn’t a cat, and Cat becomes stressed by the fact that his owners have so grossly mislabeled him. Upon encountering an actual cat, he resolves to effect a change. He tries barking continuously, then not answering when called, but Tad and his parents don’t understand. Only when Cat saves Tad from a snake is his wish granted—Tad decides to rename him “Lucky.” Toole narrates in a simple, Dr. Seuss–like manner, and the playful observations evoke a puppy’s exuberance. The verses, however, lack any form of metrical structure, consisting instead of awkward prose squeezed by dint of end rhymes into rolling couplets: “As the little bird flew away in haste, / The little dog thought, ‘Birds I don’t like to chase or taste.’” Lacking poetic finesse, the repetitions in Cat’s quest for identity prove wearisome rather than zestful. Kinra provides functional but unremarkable digital illustrations.
A sweet concept belabored in the execution.Pub Date: June 18, 2016
ISBN: 9781478773399
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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