CATS ON CATS ON CATS

Cats cause chaos at a relative’s house.

Beatrix enjoys her weekly visits with her grandmother tremendously. Granny is always happy to have her, and they have tons of fun together. Worried that Granny will be lonely when she leaves, Beatrix decides to give her a pet cat to remind her of their connection during the week—and Granny responds in kind. Since Granny assumes from the gift that Beatrix adores cats, she fills her house up with a dozen fuzzy felines, who begin to crowd out her granddaughter and take over their time together. Beatrix goes to drastic lengths to free Granny from the crisis—but a bit of honest communication clears things up. Neither of them is truly a cat fancier, and Granny is actually allergic to felines; as in many a loving relationship, they were just trying to make the other happy. But, as it turns out, Beatrix needn’t have worried; Granny’s senior housing is a warm, bustling community. The delightful, madcap nature of this story is captured perfectly in Frost’s loose, cartoonish illustrations. Though the book contains narrative text, brown-skinned Granny and Beatrix converse in speech bubbles as well. The cats’ shenanigans—destroying decor, flopping on Granny’s and Beatrix’s heads, and flying away tied to balloons—are rendered even sillier by their lolling tongues and comically big eyeballs. For lovers of cats, grandmas, and shenanigans alike, this is an equally rewarding read-aloud or read-alone.

A gleefully goofy family story.