Inside Cat

PreS-Gr 2–Inside Cat lives in a world filled with windows. Safe in its familiar world, Inside Cat observes the outside with curiosity and intrigue, often filling in the missing pieces with elements from its own imagination. Day after day, the vibrant city draws its attention, and just when it thinks it knows everything, Inside Cat finds a door that shows it more. This clever and enjoyable picture book is well suited to children and adults alike. Short sentences and a repetitive, rhyming structure make it accessible to young readers, while the overarching theme of bravely exploring the world outside one’s comfort zone is one that will resonate with older readers as well. The text and illustrations work to create a dynamic and memorable tableau, as Inside Cat explores the myriad levels of its home. Created in a variety of media, the images feature the hero as a cat-shaped combination of scribbles, giving it texture and making it stand out against the rest of the images. Its home is primarily white with light blue, watercolor outlines of objects within that space. However, outside the windows is where the color is, depicting a wide range of scenes.