LoveCats (Yes, I’m a Stereotype.)

I just have to share these two great new picture books starring fab felines!

Ginger and the Mystery Visitor
by Charlotte Voake
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763648657
Audience: ages 3 – 7

I have adored every one of the Ginger stories, which manage to be both heartwarming and adorable and display a sense of humour that doesn’t always come with cute territory. Here, Ginger and the kitten have a visitor, who turns out to not be as badly in need of the food and attention she’s been getting as he’d like the little girl to think! The bold interloper is eventually banished, and life returns to normal.

While the story is amusing, I think Voake’s loosely-drawn illustrations make her books for me. She manages to capture cats perfectly, and add an extra dimension of expression to their faces that brings them over into cartoonish, and makes them quietly quite funny. 

If you are new to Ginger stories, start with the first, simply titled Ginger.

Windows With Birds
by Karen Ritz
Boyd Mills Press
ISBN: 9781590786567
Audience: ages 4-8

The cat in this book was comfortable with his familiar house, and quite happy, until his boy moved to a new place, and everything was new. He is scared, and hides, only creeping out to sleep with the boy after bedtime. soon enough, he discovers things he likes about his new home, and some things that haven’t changed at all.

A lovely, simply-told story about moving and adapting to a new place, this would be a perfect pick for a child who is dealing with a move. The illustrations are gorgeous, done in richly saturated watercolours that perfectly capture the cat and the light of a clear day.