by Sarah Sommer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 5, 2021
A cute, informative, sympathetic introduction to the tough emotional stakes of pet ownership.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
A grieving cat finds a new friend in this picture book.
“My cat is blue, and I don’t know why / At times he looks like he just might cry,” a White, pigtailed girl worries, looking across her gray bedroom at her chubby, morose, turquoise-colored cat. She has tried tempting him with his favorite toys and treats, but he is uninterested; he spends his days lying around the house unresponsively. The cat’s “blues” are infectious: As various remedies fail, the narrator, too, turns shades of turquoise out of sympathy. The girl and her dark-haired mother and father take their pet to the veterinarian, who discovers that the depressed feline has been sad since the family’s dog died. He proposes that the family adopt a homeless kitten—today. A smooth, happy ending easily follows, and as the two cats begin comforting each other, color returns to the world. Feline fans will appreciate the tale’s empathetic approach to pet ownership and concern for animals’ emotional well-being and need for companionship. Ka’s clean, appealing digital illustrations with a matte finish animate this short, sweet story of recovery after mourning. Sommer’s rhyming text occasionally slips into near rhyme, but the internal rhythm carries the tale for read-aloud enthusiasts.
A cute, informative, sympathetic introduction to the tough emotional stakes of pet ownership.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64-543959-2
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Mascot Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
More by Sarah Sommer
BOOK REVIEW
by Sarah Sommer ; illustrated by BulankinaKa
by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kimberly Dean
BOOK REVIEW
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean
BOOK REVIEW
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean
BOOK REVIEW
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
BOOK REVIEW
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Christy Webster ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager & Chiara Fiorentino
BOOK REVIEW
by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
BOOK REVIEW
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Mike Yamada
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.