This little kitty

Only the most fanatic of felinophiles are going to coo over the quintet of kitties that Obuhanych follows through a day of domestic demolition. Rousting their resident human--occasionally visible in the painted, floor-level scenes as just a leg or hand--the five proceed to spread kibble and litter over the floor, rest after some wild play, and then spread out for mischief ("This little kitty claws up the chair. / Ick! This furball coughs up some hair") before scritching fingers raise clouds of shed fur and it's finally time for bed. Or maybe not: "But, oh, that's silly. / The night's just begun. / And this little kitty / is ready for some fun!" Young audiences sharing their homes with only canine companions may feel they've made the right choice, until Ruth Paul's Bad Dog Flash (2014) or Ian Falconer's Two Dogs (2022) remind them of the havoc these dogs can bring. And these five troublemakers, each different in coloring and body type but sharing the same wide eyes and perky ears, are undeniably adorable.

Five frisky felines have an eventful day. A black cat with wide eyes starts the morning off right: "Wake up! It's time to play!" Four other bedraggled cats stretch, yawn, and get ready for breakfast. In rollicking rhyme, the kittens find their groove: "It's playtime now! / Let's crouch… / coil… / pounce! / A feather, / a mouse, / a ball to bounce!" Then, with a swift page turn, the kittens are back to snoozing. "Whew. Playtime is / over and done. / And, oh, what's this? / A patch of sun?" Too tempting to resist. Filling her book with catnaps, clawed curtains, and hairballs, Obuhanych (making her authorial debut) clearly knows her subject well. But her illustrations are where the kittens come to life; each furball has their own distinct personality, especially through half-lidded stares as they deliberately get into mischief. When the day finally comes to a close, yellow eyes peer out from the darkness. This little kitty is ready for a nighttime adventure, too. Readers get only a glimpse of humans' limbs as a pair of brown legs swing from the bed or brown- and light-skinned hands reach down to ruffle fur. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Sure to have cat lovers rejoicing. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.