TOBY THE TABBY KITTEN

A collection of sunny, full-color photographs of Toby, a Manx kitten, with funny, informative explanations of his likes and dislikes, language, senses, body, and habits: climbing trees, sleeping, and feeding. Readers meet his owner, Sarah, who takes him with her to school, and his friend, Duke, a dog. Like kittens themselves, the text is tirelessly playful; Bare (This is a House, 1992, etc.) doesn't shy away from anthropomorphization, rhymes the text when she wants to, and completely changes her tone from one sentence to the next—a spunky presentation. The pictures show Toby in a variety of contexts, from a trip down a slide to a pose in some tulips. Warm and endearing for young friends of felines, marginal for those not so disposed. (index) (Picture book. 3-8)