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CAT HAS ONE SHOE

Name: CAT HAS ONE SHOE
Author: Rebecca Purcell
ISBN: 978-1-80036-010-5

From the Cat and Friends series

by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2021

Cute enough overall, but Cat’s previous outings are stronger titles for little readers.

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When Cat’s shoe goes missing, Cat and Bird take a ride to find it.

Purcell’s skateboarding Cat from Cat’s New Hat (2020) is on another adventure with friend Bird, this time looking for Cat’s missing shoe. As the pair skateboard along, they encounter a few possible shoes that turn out to be not quite right until finally finding the match on a monster’s foot. Purcell offers little readers opportunities to notice similarities and differences. Some shoes are the wrong color, others the wrong size (and the wrong color). This is a nice way to engage readers in the hunt. The story is told in a mix of narrative and speech and thought balloons, the latter containing interactions between Cat and Bird, and it reads just right. Those highlights aside, the text begins with rhythm and rhyme, but it’s not consistently carried out. Cat’s location is very specifically indicated with cacti, but then that seems irrelevant to the adventure. Cat and Bird encounter an owl and snakes before meeting the monster, which readers have been primed to imagine will be another animal thanks to other context clues. While this surprise is surely part of the silliness, it also feels a bit misplaced. In a break from previous, nongendered titles, here Cat is assigned a masculine pronoun.

Cute enough overall, but Cat’s previous outings are stronger titles for little readers. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-80036-010-5

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Tiny Seed

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE MONSTER READS A BOOK
by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
COUNTING WITH OWL AND BIRD
by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
ZIP'S NEW BUTTON
by Rebecca Purcell

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SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

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One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Robin Corey/Random

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HIPPOS REMAIN CALM
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
WOO HOO! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
HAPPY EASTER, LITTLE POOKIE
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

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LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

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In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.

Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)