This saccharine, exclamation-filled story is purr-fect for young cat fans but not many others.
The first in a new chapter book series introduces a girl who can turn into a cat.
Koemi “Kitty” Kimura loves cats more than anything (hence her nickname), but she’s allergic to them. When the Japanese-American girl’s white best friend, Jenny, invites Kitty to see her new pale gray kitten, Misty, Kitty’s Japanese-born grandmother allows her to go as long as she wears a family heirloom: a small charm imprinted with a picture of a cat. Fleetingly, Kitty wonders how a pendant can stop her from sneezing but quickly puts the thought aside for a sleepover at Jenny’s. Later, Kitty has an uncontrollable sneezing fit that turns her into a cat. Fortunately, Misty is there to welcome Kitty to the world of cats. On their first midnight adventure, they run into two bullies: a pair of twin Persians named Fang and Claws. Kitty and Misty report the troublemakers to the local Cat Council, the keepers of feline order. At her first council meeting, Kitty discovers she’s the latest in an ancient matrilineal line of Cat Guardians, humans who can turn into cats, and her first task is to stop the bullies. Kitty’s immediate family consists of her grandmother and her parents, who own a Japanese imports shop. The artwork, reminiscent of Mary Blair’s, features rosy, cozy images of romping kittens, an apt complement to the self-consciously breathless text.
This saccharine, exclamation-filled story is purr-fect for young cat fans but not many others. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-607-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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