Me and My Cat

PreS-Gr 2—What exciting adventures does a small child have in store for a day spent playing with her pet cat? Trukhan's debut picture book shares what two "best of friends" will do over the course of one happy day. Charming endpapers showcase a wall filled with a series of framed pictures of our nameless child narrator and her pet cat's daily activities. As readers turn the pages, they find the narrator and her cat playing inside and outside, eating dinner, cleaning up, and tucking in together for a bedtime story. The short text counterbalances the cheerful illustrations amusingly. As the narrator explains, "We love to race and chase, but my cat's always too fast for me! He gets into lots of places I can't. And into some places he shouldn't." The trusty cat is shown running along rooftops with a happy grin and ends up in a tree looking rather nervously at a barking dog on the ground. The book is particularly successful in its emphasis on pet owner and pet alike looking after each other. The child explains, "I'm always there to help," as she saves him from his unhappy spot in a tree, and when she needs saving, her cat "races straight to [her] rescue, too," to pounce on a mouse in the house. The text and lighthearted, painted illustrations blend together beautifully to offer viewers a real treat of a tale.