Cats, a dash of fantasy, and a puzzling mystery are a recipe for a fun read despite an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
Two children help their pet cat solve a mystery in this short, middle-grade first installment of a series.
Johnstone takes readers to a land known as Cat City. One night, sister and brother Amy and James decide to follow their cat, Kiwi, but they’re in for a surprise when they learn that Kiwi can talk. Kiwi transforms them into kittens and takes them with her to Cat City. Kiwi is called upon to help Inspector Furrball solve a series of catnappings that have occurred in the feline-filled city. While Amy and James (now Ames and Jimster) struggle to adapt to cat behavior, including licking their own fur, Kiwi investigates Catskins Limited, a company that makes biscuits and seems to be linked to the catnappings. Furrball asks his nephew, the bumbling, oafish Paws, to assist the trio, though he proves useless. The break in the case comes when Kiwi and Furrball discover that the Catskins delivery to Cat Crime has a false bottom that contains some mysterious contents. Kiwi, with help from Amy and James, tracks the catnapped catizens, but more treachery ensues. Though the book is a mystery, the bloodshed-free crime means that the book is safe enough for younger readers to enjoy, and funny moments—provided by the bumbling Paws and lots of “cat” wordplay—keep the story light. The sleuthing will captivate young readers, although the ending, which allows for a sequel, is disappointingly inconclusive. For example, readers never learn what was hidden beneath the false bottom of the Catskins box or about Dev’s background, the criminal mastermind. Nor do we get to see what happens when Amy and James return to their old human forms.
Cats, a dash of fantasy, and a puzzling mystery are a recipe for a fun read despite an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-1463588298
Page Count: 154
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
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
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