A LITTLE KITTY
by Jane Feder & illustrated by Amy Schwartz
The titular little kitty frolics gently in a similarly diminutive backyard, observing the flora and fauna, napping and stretching before cuddling up to its little girl for a “great big hug.” Feder’s rhyming text and Schwartz’s delicate line-and-watercolor illustrations, done in a palette of pastel hues, are right on target for older babies and toddlers who are beginning to explore their own worlds, and the small trim emphasizes the coziness of the whole experience. Both it and its companion, A Little Puppy (ISBN: 978-0-7636-2651-8), make a developmental misstep with spreads that oppose their protagonists in different scenes and in vignettes: Children of the age of the target audience will not understand that those two (or three) kitties are in fact the same kitty drawn multiple times. (9-24 mos.)