Some Cats!
Farrar Straus and Giroux/Raincoast Books
age 3-5
By Mary Casanova, illustrated by Ard Hoyt
40 pages
Synopsis from Raincoast Books
Violet has always imagined ruling a kingdom with sharp claws and velvet paws, so when she is adopted and goes to live with two dogs, she immediately takes over with a Meowww! Hisssss! and Spat! Poor George and Zippity try to befriend Violet, but they get nowhere. One afternoon, while her new family is out fishing, Violet is awakened by some stray dogs who chase poor Violet into a corner. Luckily, George and Zippity arrive home just in time to help.
Having just adopted cats at our local humaine society, Some Cats! struck a cord. Victoria the cat doesn’t fall within the cute kitten that most people want but perhaps all she needed was a sense of belonging. Cats, like people, sometimes have a hard time letting people get close to them. When we were looking for our cats we didn’t want to pick the cute kitten everyone else would pine for. We picked the quiet, shy, reserved cats, the ones that jumped and hissed at strangers. Of course they became an integrated part of our family like our new cats will.
The kids loved the story of Victoria fighting everyone, like our past cats have done, knowing that with some attention and a feeling of belonging that things would change. Some Cats! Is a great story for families looking at getting a family pet, starting up a conversation on what to expect on introducing a new cat into the family.
You can find a copy of Some Cats! at your local bookstore or at Sterling Publishing. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations.