Welcome to the Creature Café

K-Gr 2–The adorable trio of kittens (Toulouse, Berlioz, and Marie) from Disney’s The Aristocats film are the main characters in this early chapter book series. Set in Paris after the events depicted in the film, the kittens find an unused underground café formerly devoted to animal diners in Creature Café. The playful and energetic kittens, with help from Pierre the French bulldog, use their creativity to resurrect the restaurant and in the process reunite old friends. Mother Duchess and stepfather Thomas O’Malley make appearances as the kittens find that each of their individual talents (cooking, music, and art) makes for a perfect collaboration to reopen the restaurant as The Purrfect Pawtisserie. In Biscuit Bake-Off, the kittens’ competition for the best biscuit brings out their competitive spirit and results in hurt feelings—but as their mother says, “Good manners and kindness are always in fashion,” and the kittens work out the conflict with the help of more characters from the film (puppies Nadine and Leon and hedgehog Spike). A few full-page and vignette illustrations supplement the text and enhance the light, cheerful tone.