A Cat Like That

PreS-Gr 2—In a story that doubles as a barely disguised primer on the dos and don'ts of handling a cat, a winsome but finicky feline lists all of the things he wants and does not want from a best friend: privacy when using the litter box—good; shouting in his ear-bad; an ability to read tails—excellent; dropping him to see if he lands on his feet—don't even try it. Fortunately, this feline narrator is confident that the reader is just the sort of person he'd want for a best friend, because he finishes with, "If I could pick a best friend in the whole wide world…I would pick YOU!" The artwork, created with Photoshop, has a Fauvist look about it. Wild colors and fluid lines capture the essence of being a cat without any bearing to the way felines or their environments look naturally; one illustration of the animal cleaning himself is in shades of blue and looks as if it had been created with a nod to Matisse. The dynamic artwork and playful prose make this an appealing book to share individually with a prospective cat owner or in a cat-themed storytime.—Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA