TRIBECA

A cat with three legs fears she won’t be accepted in her new home.

Tribeca’s foster mom says she’s just “purrfect,” but the bright orange-and-black calico kitty feels like “a total CATastrophe.” The neighborhood cats laugh at her missing front leg even though she can still run, pounce, and “chase those pesky birds off the balcony like nobody’s business.” So when her foster mom tells her she’s going to her new home tomorrow, Tribeca bristles with worries. What if her new family wants a “normal” cat? When she imagines being kicked out—literally—into a downpour, bedraggled and dejected, even dog lovers will want to scoop her up for a hug. To Tribeca’s astonishment, not only does her new dad pronounce her “perfect,” she gets a shaggy canine sister, too…who’s missing a back leg. Tribeca, whose experiences being bullied have led her to internalize ableist attitudes, laughs at her new sibling and tells her that having three legs isn't “normal.” But the dog is unfazed; why be “normal,” she asks, “when you can be dog-gone paw-some?” Encouraged, Tribeca adopts a self-accepting “cat-itude.” Appealingly, the resilient Tribeca is more than a furball of anxiety. Her narration, sprinkled with puns and feline quirks, balances self-deprecation with humor, while endearing, animated illustrations convey Tribeca’s feistiness as well as her fear. Tribeca’s foster mom is light-skinned; her new dad is brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.) 

A warm and fuzzy testament to the importance of paws-itive role models.