MEOW

With cat-sized props placed against boldly colored backgrounds—such as a claw-foot bathtub (with gilt cats for feet) just big enough for three kittens—internationally renowned photographer Reinen’s attention-grabbing photos offer cat-lovers their fill of felines at play and rest. What this doesn’t have is a real story, but the day-in-the-life construct gives the author enough of a framework to showcase her intentionally cute photographs, which call to mind William Wegman’s dog pictures. Plot or no, children will nevertheless giggle over the photos of cats doing exactly what they might do themselves on a typical day: eat breakfast, take a bath, and go to school. The real humor comes when children know enough about natural cat behavior to realize that cats do not bathe in bathtubs; that loving to knit does not mean ending up entangled in a skein of mohair yarn; and that being “a big help in the garden” shouldn’t result in flowers sitting next to now-empty flowerpots. The breeds of the pictured felines are identified on the verso of the title page. It is impossible to determine what came first in this effort—the pictures or the text—since many of the photos appear on the author’s Web site. Plenty of adult appeal, especially the stack of books suitable for bedtime stories: World Catlas, Looking Out the Cat Door: A Retrospective, How to Claw Your Way to The Top, and Canaries and You by Bud & Jerry Garr. Cat-lovers may return to this, but others may find that one day is enough. (Picture book. 4-8)