WHEN THE SILLIEST CAT WAS SMALL

Bachelet returns with his pet from My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World (2006), which is actually an elephant, to relate the cat’s early years. “Until I adopted a cat, I didn’t know a thing about cats. I was counting on my gut to help me choose an ideal companion.” The author picks a cat who loves milk, washing, play and sleep. He finds he made the right choice; his cat adjusts quickly to apartment life but sometimes seems sad. He buys it a stuffed, purple elephant, which the cat loves (though it sometimes gets lost). When his cat trades the toy for a squeaky carrot, the author thinks his cat might be entering a silly stage. Every cartoon picture of the elephant-cat shows it doing nearly the opposite of the author’s observation. As it cavorts with its elephant siblings, who all have cat-colored coats, the author’s cat obviously prefers not to drink milk, wash or play, and it prefers late-night TV to sleep. It also can’t get rid of that elephant toy fast enough. This French import is as much of a goofy read as the droll first and sure to please the kids who are in on the joke. (Picture book. 4-8)