CHICAGO AND THE CAT

Fourth in a series of easy-to-read Little Chapter Books about Chicago the rabbit and her friend the cat, who share a home and humorous, garden-variety misadventures. Here a busload of Chicago's relatives, led by Aunt Philly and Uncle Denver, arrive bearing mounds of inedible (as far as the cat's concerned) food, like dandelion casserole and zucchini popsicles. They commandeer the cat's bedroom and play baseball by whatever rules benefit their side at the moment. At story's end, the cat declares that she can't wait until the next reunion—of the cat family! Koontz follows the typical early-reader format, with large type, short sentences laid out in short, widely-spaced lines, and pictures on every page. Not for the very earliest readers, but fine for those who have developed their vocabulary and can handle words like invitations, arrival, and bleachers. (Fiction. 5-8)