I'm Not Cute by Jonathan Allen

I'm Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen
Copyright 2014 - Boxer Books
Children's picture book
Source: Unsolicited from Sterling Children's

I'm Not Cute! is about a baby owl who doesn't want to be thought of as a cute little thing as he thinks himself a grown-up owl. Hopefully, you'll be able to enlarge these images. Baby owl decides to go for a walk in the woods where, "Nobody will bother ME," but he comes across Rabbit, who says he's "so cute" and "so small" and gives him a hug.

Baby Owl insists that he's a "huge and scary hunting machine with great big soft and silent wings." But, Fox comes along, sees him doing what Fox thinks is a little dance and calls him "so cute and so fluffy". Baby Owl gets another hug. The same thing continues with Squirrel admiring his cuteness and his "big baby eyes."  Baby Owl throws a tantrum but along comes his mother, who listens to his complaints about being called cute and agrees with him. Clearly, he is a "huge, scary, sleek, sharp-eyed hunting machine."

Naturally, the reverse psychology leads to a small crisis in which Baby Owl decides he really is cute.

His mama sympathizes, tells him it's bedtime and reads till Baby Owl drifts off to sleep. She whispers that he's awfully cute for a huge, scary, sleek, sharp-eyed hunting machine. Baby Owl has one eye open but closes it with a smile on his face when she wishes him good night. 

My thoughts: Anyone who has had or worked with a toddler or preschooler going through that phase during which they can't accept the fact that they're not yet grown-ups but still want the comfort of being coddled by an adult will relate to this story and enjoy reading it to a little one. And, the little one being read to will probably get a kick out of a little owl sharing his or her feelings. 

Recommended - A good story that little ones can relate to with adorable illustrations. I love the fact that I'm Not Cute! shows both sides of the story. Sometimes a little one wants to be treated like an adult but at other times they just want to be loved, cuddled and babied.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Is That My Cat? by Jonathan Allen

Is That My Cat? by Jonathan Allen is about a cat who has suddenly become lazy and fat.  

Is that my cat?
It can't be.
My cat is a slim,
sleek pussycat.

Is that my cat?
It can't be. 
My cat is a little cat
who leaps in and out 
of the cat flap.

Is that my cat? 
What happened to the
light little cat I could 
pick up with one hand?

Is that my cat?
It can't be.
My cat is a fussy 
eater who never
finishes her food.

And so forth.  The cat has gotten round and heavy, is eating more, sleeping a lot, not so great at hunting as she used to be, can't climb a tree very well, etc.  Then the narrator (a little boy) hears her purring in the closet and . . . 

IT IS MY CAT,
and she has kittens.

Is That My Cat? is a book that I feel a little squirmy about.  My husband says it's silly to feel that way, since the book is directed at very small children. But, basically, you have an unspayed kitty running around outdoors and getting pregnant. Most people don't keep the kittens their cats give birth to and a lot of animals are put to death due to the sheer quantity of unwanted domesticated animals, so I feel strongly about spaying/neutering -- knowing myself, I'd probably preach about that while reading the book, even to a really small child. 

However, I'm sure that's absolutely not the point (hence my husband telling me to quit fussing over the spaying issue and look at the book for what it is). The point clearly is to show little ones that when a cat has kittens, the mama cat changes and that is definitely something the book does well. The final pages:

Are they my cats?
YES, THEY ARE!

Recommended - Great for showing small children where kittens come from and how a mother cat changes before giving birth. The illustrations are wonderful - big, bold, colorful with happy faces on both the young boy and the kitties:

I received a copy of Is That My Cat? from Sterling Children's Books, unsolicited. Many thanks! I adore children's books and am tempted to cut out the kittens and laminate them to make bookmarks (don't worry, I won't . . . but they're totally adorable and just the right size).

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.