In Claire Belton's comics collection Pusheen the Cat's Guide to Everything, the rotund, gray cat familiar from the world of GIFs has a starring role. Good-natured scenes delight in the endearing quirks of cats and other cute creatures. Pusheen, like any feline, excels at wreaking havoc in lovable ways. With an onomatopoeic "plop" and "squash," she sits where she doesn't fit, whether in a fruit bowl or wedged behind a laptop. She knocks a mug of coffee onto an open book, then promptly falls asleep on the pages. Turning her nose up at her bowl, she'll steal water elsewhere; ignoring her own bed and toys, she'll sit in a box or play with wrapping paper instead. Belton (The Many Lives of Pusheen the Cat) creates a whole family circle for Pusheen, with parents Sunflower and Biscuit; Stormy, the sister "too cute to get mad at"; and little brother Pip, who imagines himself a brave adventurer. Other pals include Sloth, Cheek the Hamster and Bo, a parakeet prone to unrequited crushes.
Rather than a single narrative, the collection features stand-alone one- or two-page spreads, largely in pastels. Seasons and holidays are prominent; topics include tips on how to beat the heat and pre-Christmas anticipation. Animals sometimes live up to stereotypes (the vacuum cleaner is Pip's archnemesis) or undertake anthropomorphized activities, such as road trips. Often, though, they wear costumes (unicorns, mermaids) or are whimsically envisioned as something else entirely (coffee drinks, baked goods). Who could resist spending time with everyone's favorite cartoon cat since Garfield? --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck