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CAT'S NEW HAT

Name: CAT'S NEW HAT
Author: Rebecca Purcell
ISBN: 978-1-80036-006-8

From the Cat's Adventures series

by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2020

Cat delights in this toddler page-turner.

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Cat keeps losing their hat to the whooshing wind.

Purcell’s pink-shorts–wearing Cat from Cat Goes Fast (2020) is back with a hat to match. When the wind picks up the hat and blows it away, Cat skateboards past animals, rocks, and trees in pursuit. The story demonstrates cause and effect, showing what happens when the goose flies away with the hat and the wind blows it. In addition, Cat and friends use their problem-solving and teamwork skills to keep the hat on Cat’s head. Purcell includes opportunities for readers to participate, inviting them to spot the missing hat, for example, and to predict what might happen next. The rhyming text works well, set in simply structured sentences. Cat’s little bird friend and the other animals talk in speech bubbles, offering sweet little asides that are not integral to the plot. The illustrations are simple and clean, with solid backgrounds of blue skies and green grass. Belying the pictures’ charming simplicity, the book moves: Three simple lines bent in various ways effectively convey the blowing wind, and because there is always something just about to happen with the turn of the page, the pacing keeps up. Cat is never referred to with gendered pronouns and generally appears androgynous.

Cat delights in this toddler page-turner. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-80036-006-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Tiny Seed

Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE MONSTER READS A BOOK
by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
COUNTING WITH OWL AND BIRD
by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell

- BOOK REVIEW
CAT HAS ONE SHOE
by Rebecca Purcell ; illustrated by Rebecca Purcell

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SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

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One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Robin Corey/Random

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HIPPOS REMAIN CALM
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
WOO HOO! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
HAPPY EASTER, LITTLE POOKIE
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

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LLAMA LLAMA TRICK OR TREAT

From the Llama Llama series

by Anna Dewdney ; illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014

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In this board book designed for the littlest llama lovers, adorable-as-ever Llama Llama (Llama Llama Red Pajama, 2005, etc.) gets ready for some Halloween fun.

Dewdney’s characteristic spare, apt rhymes convey a lot of action in effortlessly readable fashion. A charming and simple introduction to Halloween and its associated activities, this title finds little Llama Llama choosing and carving a pumpkin, pouring candy into bowls, picking out a costume and, finally, trick-or-treating. The costume Llama Llama decides to don—pointy teeth and a black mask and cape—is enough to frighten and fool his friends but not readers, who will immediately recognize and smile at the silly little mini-Dracula. With Dewdney’s characters as expressive as ever, young readers will be drawn right into the holiday fun, eagerly anticipating which costume Llama Llama will choose and excited to see him scare his friends and score some candy at trick-or-treat. In the equally appealing companion title, Llama Llama Jingle Bells,the little fellow gets ready for Christmas, baking and decorating some cookies in anticipation of Santa’s arrival. This simple holiday title will win Llama Llama new fans, and old friends will want to add it and its companion to their collections. (Board book. 1-2)