THE CAT WHISPERER

In this picture book, cats residing in a nursing home spread a little girl’s message of love.

Bella, a budding White “cat whisperer,” visits her grandmother and her grandmother’s cat, Boo, at a nursing home. Orange tabby Boo is one of many cats living with nursing home residents, and when Bella whispers goodbye to Boo, saying, “I love you! Pass it on,” Boo does just that. Bella’s words make their rounds throughout the nursing home as each cat repeats them to another feline. When the words come full circle and return to Boo, he whispers them to Bella’s grandmother as he curls up in her lap to sleep. Photographs of Bella and the book’s many cats are well-chosen stock images expertly and expressively edited and positioned for maximum visual appeal by the author, an artist and veteran graphic designer. Young cat lovers will enjoy seeing page after page of different breeds and their varied physical characteristics: Abyssinian kittens, a British blue, a gray tabby, a ginger kitten, a white cat, a big-eyed black cat, a fluffy cat, and more. A tiny kitten sits in a coffee mug, a cat in a box extends a paw, a playful cat is tangled in yarn, a “naughty cat” scratching the furniture is caught in the act. Hall’s series of compassionate, “I love you, pass it on,” picture books for children ages 3 to 8 also feature horses and dogs.

Appealing images of real-life cats and a message of caring, effective in its simplicity.