It's All About Me-Ow - Hardcover

Hudson Talbott wrote and illustrated River of Dreams and United Tweets of America, and illustrated Newbery Honor winner Show Way (by Jacqueline Woodson) and ALA Notable Book Leonardo's Horse (by Jean Fritz). He lives in New York City and Leeds, New York, in the Hudson Valley.

*Starred Review* The tiny, wide-eyed kittens on the book’s cover and the funny title will draw readers right in. Who doesn’t love cats? Well, even if you don’t love ’em, you’ll have learned a lot about them—delightfully—after turning the last page of this clever picture book. The tiger-striped narrator is an experienced cat who is welcoming three kittens to their new home. And there’s plenty to learn. First off, he admonishes the kittens, the humans “want to make YOU happy! Now’s the time to take control.” And so it begins—the litany of catty ways that cat owners know all too well. How cats use their purrs, roll over on their backs, and give (several versions) of the patented kitty stare that means “I’m starving.” But this doesn’t just delve into the psyches of cats (and their people), though there’s plenty of that. Talbott offers enough information about a cat’s body, the history of felines, and cat cousins to raise this to the level of an information book, albeit an amusing one. Then there’s the watercolor and colored-pencil art. Funny and furious, with cats darting in circles around the spreads, it also features charts, time lines, and simple portraits of cats exhibiting feline behavior; it’s all a wonderful mélange of “catitude.” Even without the dedication, it would be obvious that Talbott has owned cats. He has taken the bad with the good and can now make even a cat devouring the Thanksgiving turkey look like fun. Grades K-2. --Ilene Cooper