Review by Booklist Review
It takes time to get over losing a beloved pet. The small boy in this title believes the rambunctious feline he used to have is now a ghost inhabiting his house. The child feels it, hears it, and sometimes sees it out of the corner of his eye as it rushes by. He's never able to clearly observe the ghost cat until the day he spots it sitting by the front door, waiting to be let out. What the boy discovers on the other side of the door will have readers smiling. Digital illustrations in vignettes and single- and double-page spreads offer mainly golden backgrounds with the pale blue cat surrounded by a misty white aura and the young tan-skinned child looking a bit bewildered as he attempts to catch glimpses of his lost pet. The child is never afraid of the ghost cat, and the animal is referred to as it, making the tale more universal. The last illustration shows that the former pet will always be a part of the child's memory. Though the youngster misses his pet, the story is not sad and could be helpful for parents discussing the loss of a pet with a child.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a comforting story of memory, longing, and hope, a boy is convinced that his home is being occupied by a ghost. He thinks it's a cat because he "used to have one," he says while wistfully looking at photos of his beloved pet. The ghost cat is definitely a spectral figure, rendered in icy blue with an ethereal white outline that pops against the setting's predominately warm browns and oranges. But the haunting doesn't bother the boy at all: in a series of spreads, the ghost does the sorts of things that are catnip to kitty lovers: it dashes around the house, curls up on the bed at night ("I feel its weight, its warmth, its purring"), and engages in feline mischief (splashing in the fish tank, knocking over a book and then a bowl). The boy avidly pursues the ghost cat until it leads him to his front doorstep, where a living stray kitten awaits. The final image is a wonderful one: the boy in his bed again, this time with both the kitten and the ghost cat curled up beside him. The heart, it seems, has room for everyone we've ever loved. Ages 3-6. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--A young boy suspects there's a ghost in his house. While he has never really gotten a good look at it, he thinks it might be a cat. He knows this because he used to have a cat. After many days of seeing it out of the corner of his eye, he finally spots it and follows it to the front door, where he finds something new waiting for him. While avoiding an explicit discussion of loss, this marvelous story conveys a young child's feelings of loneliness and grief. The portrayal of the lost cat as a specter that lingers in the child's mind is a clever and thoughtful way to show how humans can often see, hear, and feel loved ones after they've gone. Most of the digital illustrations are drawn on warm, yellow-hued pages. The ghost cat is lithe, mysterious, and playful, hiding behind fruit bowls and lurking down hallways as the young boy tries to catch a glimpse. The drawings are reassuring and cozy and the ghost cat is never spooky, instead depicted as a hopeful memory of the boy's missing pet, up to its old antics once again. VERDICT This story gives parents and caregivers an excellent framework to discuss loss and grief with young children. Recommended for purchase.--Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library, RI
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Review by Horn Book Review
In this story of moving on after loss, a young boy states matter-of-factly that there is a ghost in his house. We learn that his beloved pet cat is gone and that although the boy has caught only a glimpse of the ghost, he suspects its a cat. The spectral feline dashes through the house, always just out of sight, but the boy isnt frightened by the notion of a ghost in his presence. The ghost even brings comfort; the boy can feel the cat curled up on his bed at night. Atteberry keeps the spreads unfussythe focus is always on the boy and the catin this tender and restrained story that takes place within the confines of the boys home. Even the palette is spare: the cool blues of both the boys shirt and his cat (outlined in white) stand out atop an orangey rust color that dominates most illustrations. There is subtle humor in the creatures ability, despite being a ghost, to knock items off furniture, as well as a spread showing the ghost cat taunting a petrified fish in a tank. Atteberry renders the boys face with merely two big round eyes and a nose, making all the more poignant and meaningful the smile that appears on his face at the storys closeafter his ghostly friend has led him to a new pet: a kitten, very much alive and breathing, waiting on the porch. julie danielson July/Aug p.103(c) Copyright 2019. 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
A young child describes the behavior of a spectral cat.Straightforward first-person narration combines with simply composed illustrations to explain why the child believes that a ghost cat shares the house with them. Although they admit that "It's always gone before I can really see it," they're convinced that the cat is moving around, engaged in typical feline behaviors like scratching, rubbing, cuddling, and meowing. Illustrations that show upended books and bowls and a traumatized fish provide additional, gently humorous evidence to support their hypothesis. When they finally catch a glimpse of the ghost cat (readers have seen it all alonggray-blue surrounded by a haze of white with staring yellowish eyes), it's on its way out, or rather "through," the front door. The child opens the door to find an apparently corporeal white kitten waiting there. Atteberry's digitally created artwork features a limited but appealing palette of primarily warm golds and browns and cool blues, punctuated with greens and yellows. Lightly sketched backgrounds are spare in detail, though a few carefully placed photos suggest that the child and cat once shared their home in a more conventional fashion. The minimal detail extends to the child's face, which is very expressive despite the absence of a mouth (the child has beige skin and a shock of straight, brown hair). Losing a pet is always difficult; finding a new one isn't the solution for everyone, but in this case, it's a decidedly happy development. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
