Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness explosion

Whoever first coined the phrase "It's so sweet it makes your teeth hurt" got off easy. The feline puffball of this title is so overwhelmingly adorable that when anyone in her animal-populated world is in any kind of proximity, they spontaneously combust in a cloud of rainbow smoke: "KABOOM!" "This, of course, made Fluffy very sad and extremely lonely," Martin (How to Make a Friend) observes in delicious deadpan. Attempts to de-escalate the cat's preciousness--giving herself a bad haircut, wearing a bag over her head--only make her cuter. Tavis's (Common Critters) explosion-filled illustrations, a smartly paced combination of snapshot vignettes and full spreads, portray Fluffy's travails with comic deftness, assuring readers that her effect on others is all in good, albeit cracked, fun. And it's a tribute to the authors' storytelling skills that audiences will also be rooting for Fluffy's happiness--which she finds after retreating to a seemingly deserted island (but one still within reach of pizza delivery) and meeting a companion whose own cuteness quotient is a match for her own lethal lovability. Readers newly flexing their sense of transgressive humor should get a real bang out of this. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

What can Fluffy do? Her cuteness is lethal! "Fluffy McWhiskers [is] so cute that if you saw her… / you'd explode." A lion, two snakes, an elephant, a koala all gaze upon her and…Kaboom! Because of this, she's quite sad and lonely and determines to make herself less cute. She makes herself an ugly sweater. She gives herself a bad haircut. She even puts a scary bag on her head…"but that was ridiculously cute!" (Her goldfish explodes.) When the newspaper publishes her photo, animals everywhere explode; she hops a rocket to outer space--the aliens in a passing UFO explode. Next, she moves to a remote tropical island. No one explodes, but pizza delivery takes forever, and tummy scratches are nearly impossible. She makes some fruit friends…but then she gets hungry. One day she hears a bark, and she can't find a place to hide--but when she's face to face with a so-ugly-it's-cute pug, the dog doesn't explode! Moreover, the pug is confused that Fluffy doesn't explode. They're the perfect match…but passing cruise ships should beware! Martin's foolish tale of a killer cutie-pie cat will have readers old and young exploding with laughter with its deadpan humor. Newcomer Tavis' artwork with its rainbow clouds of exploding animals, all killed by cuteness overload, will multiply the laughs exponentially. Fluffy really is cute, resembling a purple powder puff with enormous eyes more than a cat. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A seriously funny and delightfully nonlethal outing. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.