A couple of classic children's book premises--a kid wants a pet, and a kid has a learning challenge--are brought together in Negative Cat, Sophie Blackall's winsome picture book salute to pets, perseverance and ideas so crazy they just might work.
As the story begins, the narrator's browbeaten parents finally give in to his pestering for a cat--with certain conditions. The most daunting? He must read for 20 minutes each day. Unfortunately, the cat that the boy chooses at the rescue shelter isn't scoring points at his new home: among other problems, "Max leaves hairballs on the rug, his tail in the butter, and poop in the vestibule." Meanwhile, the narrator hasn't kept up with his reading, so his mom phones the shelter lady, who comes over to reclaim Max. In desperation, the boy grabs a book: "I begin to read slowly. Out loud. The only way I know how." The boy's voice lures Max out from under the bed, and--what's this?--he ambles over for a cuddle. This gives the shelter lady an idea....
Inspired by a phenomenon observed at the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, Pa., Negative Cat is so ceaselessly entertaining that readers may not pick up on its underlying educational mission. Caldecott medalist (for Finding Winnie and Hello Lighthouse) Blackall accents her meticulously coy art with dialogue balloons containing the narrator's relatives' remarks ("He doesn't even purr," and so on), which collectively form their own hilarious Greek chorus of negativity. --Nell Beram, freelance writer and YA author