Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 01/20/2025 As six cats-each a different color and sporting a hard hat-toil tirelessly at a worksite, snappy rhymes by Bardhan-Quallen (the Purrmaids series) and layered mixed-media images by Hernandez (the Mia Mayhem series) depict the felines as confident in their tasks: "Yellow cat./ Green hat./ Dig this./ Clear that." But readers will quickly notice that the individuals don’t really collaborate-each kitty works alone. And that seems to suit everyone just fine, until some concrete columns break loose, wiping out the individuals’ progress. Now, it’s time to "work together": spreads show the cats forming teams and welcoming help from some equally competent rats to repair the damage and finish the job. The result? An elaborate, mansion-like cat tree, launched via a fancy-dress party. Collaboration stories often depict individuals as hapless until they form a team. These pages supply a fresh twist that spotlights strengths individual and communal, while offering cat and construction aficionados plenty to savor. Ages 3-7. Agent (for author and illustrator): Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Apr.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 03/28/2025 K-Gr 1—Despite a cat-astrophic collapse partway through, the construction of a stylish bungalow complete with scratching posts is the centerpiece for this frisky feline construction crew. In this first "Cats in Hats" romp, written entirely (except for sound effects) in two-word sentences, there is a lot going on in Bardhan-Quallen's text. While the dialogue is constructed to clarify the difference between a nearby "this" and a more distant "that" ("Load this." "Move that"), the parallel captions set up a predictable color sequence, so that, for example, "Yellow cat./ Green hat./ Green cat./ Orange hat."/ Orange cat. / Blue hat" and so on. Along with views of heavy machinery on the job, not to mention glimpses of brick-juggling and other tomfoolery, sharp-eyed young viewers will notice in Hernandez's bright illustrations that the mischievous rats who cause the climactic, page-filling BOOM! CRASH! and SPLAT! give the kitty construction workers an active assist in making repairs and finishing the job in a display of cooperation. And, when the house is done off come the safety vests, on go the party clothes, and all join together at the end to roll out the "Welcome mat." Imagine that. VERDICT A breezy assemblage of wordplay fun and purposeful, house-building, and cute, fuzzy workers in hard hats, this is just the ticket for younger audiences.—John Peters - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.