I Wish I Was Sick, Too!

I Wish I Was Sick, Too!

Franz Brandenberg
Illustrated by Aliki
Random House, 1976

From Goodreads, “When Edward gets sick and gets special treatment in bed, his sister thinks itis unfair and wants to get sick as well.”

Very cute story about a kitten who is jealous of her brother. Now, kittens, let’s be honest – when one of your siblings was getting special treatment for something or another, were you jealous of them? Did you wish you could get special stuff, too? I’m sure you have, we all do; its apart of being a cat (or person). And even though its in our nature to be jealous of others, we can choose not to be. I know its hard, but there’s an old adage that says, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.” And getting what we wish for doesn’t always turn out to be a good thing.

Elizabeth is jealous of her brother and wishes she were sick so she could get special treatment, too. Well, she did get sick and it makes me wonder if it was worth feeling miserable, probably queasy and weak just to get those niceties of eating in bed, phone calls from aunt and uncle, grandma reading to her and so on. She must have thought it not worth it because she was so grateful to get well.

This little picture book is a good way to learn not to be jealous of others. Next time you’re feeling jealous over what’s going on with a sibling or friend, remember that its better to be thankful for the good that’s in their lives as well as yours!

Rating 4 out of 5 paws for a good life lesson and very cute illustrations.

Reviewer: Simon

I See a Cat

I See a Cat
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book

Paul Meisel
Holiday House, 2017

From Goodreads, “When a housebound dog spies a cat, a bird, and other animals outside a glass door, he is excited: I see a cat. I see a bird. I see a squirrel. When the dog’s beloved boy comes home from school, the two pals dash outside, determined to get up close and personal with all the backyard wildlife!”

When I first saw this book on the library’s website, I told mom to get it right away! What could be better than reading a book about cats? Reading a book about cats because this isn’t a book about cats. Its about a DOG!!!! A dog who is waiting for his human to come home and sees a cat walk by his window. A d-o-g. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that the cat only appeared on a couple of pages.  However, mom said I shouldn’t say a book is bad because its about a dog and not a cat. After all, dogs are people, too, just like cats.

Anyhoo, it is a cute cat and a cute dog and a cute book. Its very easy to read for earliest readers as the phrase “I see a…” is repeated on every page. Little kittens (and puppies) will enjoy spotting the animals and insects and learning to read the names (just don’t let those puppies get too crazy about all the squirrels).

Rating: 3 paws out of 5 because it is not about cats!

Reviewer:

Simon

 

The Fire Cat

The Fire Cat
Jenny and the Cat Club

Esther Averill
HarperCollinsPublishers, 1960

From the back of the book, “Pickles is a cat who wishes to do big things. When he is adopted by the people at the firehouse, this little cat decides to be the best fire cat ever.”

I’ve waited a long time for this book. Last year I read all of the Jenny and the Cat Club books except this one since its been on order at the library for a very long time, I had to wait for it to come in. Pickles is a yellow cat with black spots and big paws. The thing he does all the time is chase other cats out of his yard. He lives in a barrel in the backyard of a kindly lady who feeds him. She tried to bring him inside to live but he didn’t like it, preferring to stay outside.

Then one day Pickles chases a small cat up a tall tree and he gets stuck up there. The kindly lady calls the fire department and they came out and rescued him. But let me warn you, fire departments don’t rescue cats out of trees anymore! They might rescue you if you fall into a sewer, but probably not. So, let’s be careful out there, felines!!

Anyway, the fire department folks adopt Pickles and he learns to be not only a fire cat, but a nice cat as well. This is a good lesson for all kittens to learn – that it pays to be nice and accepting and not bully the smaller kittens because life has a way of evening things out!

This little book was worth the wait –  and in this edition it’s especially great for beginning readers to read on they’re own. Once you read this one, be sure to read all the Jenny and the Cat Club books! They’re great fun.

Rating: 4 out of 5 paws for all out cat fun!!

Reviewer: PeggySue

 

The Boy and the Blue Moon

The Boy and the Blue Moon 

Sara O’Leary
Illustrated by Ashley Crowley
Godwin Books, 2018

From the dust jacket, “When there’s a blue moon, magical things can happen—and in this enchanting picture book about a boy and his cat, they do.”

In this beautiful, blue book, the whole world is blue – including the boy and the cat. They go on a walk through a blue forest, and ultimately end up on the Blue Moon. The story is full of charm, magic, wishes, hopes and dreams. But the illustrations are amazing – especially where the boy and cat are in a boat on a lake – gorgeous and dreamy!!!

The only fault it has is one of continuity – an error so small that it would have been missed – but we’ve seen so many lately (or maybe they’ve always been there and we haven’t noticed), we’ve decided to point them out – anyhoo, it appears the cat slipped out of his life-jacket for a page while they were on the lake. It’s a small illustration snafu, so no biggie.

Rating 5 out of 5 paws for being beautiful, blissful, bewitching, and blue.

Reviewer:

Simon

Madeline at the White House

Madeline at the White House

John Bemelmans Marciano
Viking, 2011

From the dust jacket, “Madeline and friends are off to enjoy a wonderful American adventure. The White House in Washington, D.C., is their destination, where they are the guests of the president’s lonely only daughter for the annual Easter Egg Roll. Cake and ice cream, dress-up games, and scary stories told in the dark are capped off by a magical nighttime tour of the capital’s most famous landmarks, before it’s time for the twelve little girls in two straight lines to say, “Au revoir, America!”

This is my first Madeline book and I really liked it. The only disappointing thing was that Madeline only got 1 day to spend with the lonely president’s daughter. She should have had at least a week to tour the city with Candle!! It’s a lovely rhyming story that is fun to read out loud and the pictures are simple line drawings that tell a whole lot more than meets the eye. I wish I were invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll – it looks like so much fun!!

Rating 4 out of 5 for all the fun (and magic, too!) this slim volume contains.

Reviewer:

Simon