Review by Booklist Review
From the cover crawling with cats to the endpapers showing 37 felines, this is a cat-lover's dream. Told in rhyming text, a bewigged and beribboned queen loves, loves, loves cats. Her affection is obvious feline portraits and objects d'art adorn every room. However, the king's disgruntled face shows his lack of enthusiasm for his wife's cat-infested household. To win him over, the mousers bring him gifts of fish skeletons and dead mice. Stomping off in a huff, the king retaliates by returning with a Great Dane. Does this spell an end to the fun? No indeed, the menagerie finds the canine to be the purr-fect pal! Sanderson's artwork depicts beautiful castle interiors filled with light and gilt and glamor. The queen and king are attired sumptuously, and each cat has its own personality with antics to match. Their various colors and breeds make for a fun romp as children can follow each one as they creep and pounce, play and snuggle, and perform mischievous tricks.--Gepson, Lolly Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
A queen fills her lavish Versailles-like palace with cats; the king is not a cat person. Attempts to win his love just make matters worse. In a snit, the king brings home an enormous dog--that the cats claim as one of their own. Painterly, detailed illustrations with cats everywhere (including in the dicor) are slightly stiff, but they accentuate the rhyming text's tongue-in-cheek humor. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wouldn't anyone be happy with a castle full of cats? "Once there was a queen / who kept a castle full of cats. / She loved the pretty ones and the plain ones, / the sweet ones and the brats." She pampers them with abandon; everyone has fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cats are confident in her love, but they want to win the king's, too. "They tried their best to please him / in oh-so-clever ways, / and left him charming little gifts / to brighten up his days." (These gifts include a mouse in his shoe). They warm his chair in the morning and try to satisfy his love of music and art (with serenades at the piano and claw paintings on the walls). When he becomes upset, the queen just tells him they are only being cats. When he's had enough, he storms off and returns with his idea of the perfect pet: a drooling bull mastiff! Could this be the end of kitty cat fun and games? Not quite...the cats love the present he's brought them. Sanderson's 18th-century king and queen and their adoring brood of pussycats come to life in each detailed, double-page spread watercolor. The palatial rooms and rococo decor will entrance readers, and the purring masses of cats offer plenty of humor for repeat readings Charming, expressive and surprising. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
