I'm Going to Catch My Tail!

September 22, 2014
Matison, an artist and writer whose work has appeared on TV and online, debuts with a wackily original two-character story based on quotidian cat behavior. The tail turns out to be as vivid and vocal a character as the cat it’s attached to, and over the course of the book, the relationship between the two is in constant, funny flux. Initially their interactions are as between the hunter and hunted: “I’m going to catch my tail,” the cat screams, to which its tail replies, “No you’re not.” But they are also revealed to be co-conspirators (“Toilet paper fun!”), confidantes (“It’s dark under here,” admits Cat, having chased Tail under the bedclothes. “Yeah, let’s go,” agrees Tail), and a mutual source of comfort (Tail is uniquely qualified to provide the hug that Cat really wants). Matison’s drawings have the wild, scrawled looked and frenetic dynamism of contemporary animation, but there’s a strong sense of discipline underlying all the craziness on these pages, whether verbal or visual, and not one line or joke feels indulgent or wasted. Ages 3–7.

August 15, 2014
An uber-enthused kitty cat finds that sometimes it's easier for everyone if you just ask for what you want.An orange kitty with a fluffy (and talkative) tail suffers a bad dream. When the tail asks what the cat wants to do now, the disgruntled feline replies with the titular, "I'm going to catch my tail!" to which the tail responds, "No, you're not." What follows is an epic game of chase as the frolicsome appendage proves to have more than one trick up its proverbial sleeve. Through toilet-paper rolls, under blankets, amid laundry (cat owners will sympathize with kitty's hitherto unseen owner), the cat eventually realizes that catching this tail is not an option. Turns out, the only reason he wanted to catch it in the first place was to get a hug after that scary dream. All ends well, tail willingly caught in a loving embrace. The vibrant brush, ink and digital art brings to mind a Saturday-morning cartoon, albeit a short one. With his triangular nose and ridiculously miniscule body, kitty's appearance and antics will amuse, though after the initial read, there's not much more to garner from the tale aside from the initial lesson of asking for things rather than just taking them. An amusing "tail" of misplaced emotions, though it's best the first time around. (Picture book. 3-6)

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October 1, 2014

PreS-K-In this comic book-ish picture book, a kitten wakes up from a bad dream and decides to take it out on its tail. The tail is elusive and won't be caught, until the kitty asks for a hug to feel better. This story screams to be loved with its dialogue bubbles and bouncy action but instead falls flat, perhaps because readers are thrown right into the chase without any exposition or much setup. What was the scary dream all about? Or maybe it was the oddity of the talking tail? The brush and ink linework is energetic and expressive, but is extremely stylized. The kitten has an enormous head and a clublike tail with a tiny body between. A quirky addition for comic lovers only.-Melisa Bailey, Harford County Library System, MD

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