Cats in Construction Hats

K-Gr 1–Despite a cat-astrophic collapse partway through, a frisky feline construction crew constructs a stylish bungalow complete with scratching posts in this first “Cats in Hats” romp. Despite being written entirely (except for sound effects) in two-word sentences, there is a lot going on in Bardhan-Quallen’s text. While the dialogue is constructed to clarify the difference between a nearby “this” and a more distant “that” (“Load this.” “Move that”), the parallel captions set up a predictable color sequence, so that, for example, “Yellow cat./ Green hat./ Green cat./ Orange hat.”/ Orange cat. / Blue hat.” and so on. Along with views of heavy machinery on the job, not to mention glimpses of brick-juggling and other tomfoolery, sharp-eyed young viewers will notice in Hernandez’s bright illustrations that the mischievous rats who cause the climactic, page-filling BOOM! CRASH! and SPLAT! give the kitty construction workers an active assist in making repairs and finishing the job in a display of cooperation. And, when the house is done off come the safety vests, on go the party clothes, and all join together at the end to roll out the “Welcome mat.” Imagine that.