Review by Booklist Review
Two brothers get a pair of kittens in this gentle exploration of what caring for a pet entails. The book starts with a nine-item list, embellished with childlike drawings, that details how to prepare one's home for a new pet. Readers then see the two brown-skinned boys counting down the days on a calendar until their kittens are old enough to come home from the animal shelter. When the momentous day arrives, the kittens explore their new home, while the older brother instructs the younger one on how to deal with cat peculiarities; for example, Kittens don't like to be chased. The kittens have to learn to use the litter box (the first introduction leads to a giant mess), and the little furballs are always rushing off and hiding. Finally, the kittens settle onto the boys' laps and fall asleep. The illustrations, using colored pencils, watercolors, and digital media, are softly hued and charming. A good story about the anticipation and excitement of getting a pet, and of kids learning how to interact with their new charges.--Connie Fletcher Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-This is a spare story about two brothers and their first experience owning kittens. The front endpapers give useful tips for "Before you bring your pet home." presented as if handwritten on a notebook page, and the back endpapers conclude with more tips. The text is uneven. It is spare enough to feel poetic yet lacks meter and rhyme. It begins with questions about naming the kittens and concludes with the names, but there is no transition or impetus for the monikers chosen. The colored pencil, watercolor, and digital art has a cartoony feel to it, and the brown-skinned boys, with their oversize round heads and curly hair are appealing. The art is visually interesting, with a nice mix of points of view, as well as full pages, spreads, and spot art to add movement and encourage page turns. The tips about pet care are useful and worthwhile; however, they feel as if they are the impetus for the story, causing it to feel forced and fall flat, preventing it from rising beyond ordinary. VERDICT Vets might find this title to be a useful tool for parents looking to add kittens to their home, but libraries will not find it to be a necessary addition.-Amy Lilien-Harper, Greenwich Library, CT © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two boys bring home their new kittens and begin to care for them.The narrator and his little brother have been waiting for weeks, and the day has finally come to pick up their new kittens, who are also brothers. They take home their kittens, one striped orange and one black with white paws, in the carrier because it's safer than holding them in their laps. At home, each spread shows the boys observing a kitten behaviorrunning away from the younger brother when chased, for exampleand wondering what to name the kittens. The kittens nap on the boys' laps, scratch up a mess in the litter box, play, and rub their heads against the boys' knees, while the boys react in typical older/younger sibling fashion, the narrator responsible and admonishing, his little brother free and wild. Illustrations in colored pencil, watercolor, and digital media feature soft lines and colors and emphasize the relationships between the boys and their pets; adult caregivers are never pictured. Both boys have light-brown skin and curly, dark hair. Endpapers list in crayon-styled hand printing things to have before bringing a kitten home and what to give your kitten each day.Not distinctive enough to be a favorite but sufficient to stoke a child's excitement about the idea of getting a pet and useful for facilitating a conversation about pet care. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
