CATastrophe! A story of patterns

This feline romp offers a three-fer: a way for readers to learn what patterns are and how they work; a seek-and-find game as they try to locate 172 cats, 20 dragonflies, 20 worms, and 14 fish depicted in the illustrations; and a fun story with hapless cats that can't keep their patterns straight on a fishing trip. First, they have to line up on the dock by life vest color, alternating between orange and green, but, oh no! Three greens in a row? It's a catastrophe! More snafus happen when the cats try to move ("Row, row, meow, row, row, row, meow, row, meow, MEOW!") and especially when they hook a prize that's way bigger than they bargain for. Along the way, the narrator reinforces the patterning shown in the playfully chaotic images, which feature cartoonish, expressive animals and lots of movement. Children will soon chime in with pattern recitation and groan when it goes wrong, and they can learn pattern-related vocabulary and "rules" in an accessible closing spread. A great read-aloud and a strong pick for early math collections.

Will learning patterns help these felines fish? A bevy of kitties sets out to catch some dinner. They line up on the dock. Captain Cat checks their boots: good; and their poles: good…but they are lined up with no regard for life-jacket color, and their lines have become tangled. It's a "CATastrophe!" Their leader says they need some order, a pattern. First they identify their pattern core, noting that jackets are either orange or green. When they line up orange, green, orange, green--no more tangled lines. (Anglers may question this phenomenon.) Captain Cat calls out the pattern for rowing in the canoe, but the kitties get it wrong and they spin in circles. When they all repeat the pattern core, things move smoothly. The swishing of tails nearly tips the canoe as they wait for a tug on their lines, but another pattern settles things. All the patterning is for naught when two small, wily fish tie the lines to a giant fish, and all the cats end up in the drink. They troop back to camp sodden, but a warm fire and a snack soon have them purring in a pattern as they snooze tucked up in their sleeping bags. Stephens deftly incorporates the concepts of patterns and pattern cores into her simple tale and includes an enjoyable explanatory page at the close as well as integrated seek-and-find challenges. Harney's bright, energy-filled cartoons are a great match and maintain a fine balance of cute, color, comedy…and cats. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Playfulness makes repeated reads a must for fans of cats or calculation. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.