Kitten and the Night Watchman

July 15, 2018
The story of a simple friendship that forms over the course of a night shift is given rich life with evocative art and prose.After the title character leaves his family to work as a caretaker of a large construction site, he's visited by a small, gray kitten. The tiny furry companion follows as the night watchman makes his rounds, but when the kitten disappears, the man worries about its fate as he hears a dog, a train, passing cars. This isn't a Stephen King novel; things turn out fine, and the man's family ends up one feline richer. But the journey to get to that dawn reunion is lovely. Illustrator Yoo's sunsets, purple-to-blue night skies, and chalky beams of yellow light set the mood, while her deceptively simple rendering of the kind-faced watchman puts readers into the man's shoes. But the real surprise is the depth of debut writer Sullivan's words. The construction vehicles don't just sit on the lot: "Garbage trucks line up like circus elephants. / A backhoe rises like a giant insect." Sound effects ("peent peent peent" goes a nighthawk) and lived-in, careful observations make it no surprise to learn that Sullivan was a building and equipment guard and that the cat-adoption story is real. The man and his family are people of color.Every life and job is unique; this book's take on the job of a watchman is empathetic, poetic, and a joy to look at, cute kitty and all. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 16, 2018
A night watchman hugs his family and goes to work, where he methodically makes his rounds through an empty construction site. His flashlight’s warm yellow beam illuminates the darkness: “He checks the doors. He checks the workshop.” Debut author Sullivan, who based the story on his own experience, illuminates the inner life of his character as well, using concise, poetic language. The watchman “thinks of his boy and girl, safe and asleep at home.” He’s alert to the beauty of the darkness, too: the big trucks’ fanciful-looking shadows (“A backhoe rises like a giant insect”), the full moon that “shines like an old friend,” the way the air fills with a sound of a train and then becomes still again. Most of all, he is kind: a stray gray kitten joins him on his rounds (“ ‘Back again?’ he asks”), and after worrying when it disappears, the watchman takes the kitten home to join his family. Yoo (Strictly No Elephants) sets a lovely mood, taking readers from sunset to dawn through washes of orange, pink, and blue, the watchman’s compassionate demeanor assuring them that all’s well. Ages 4–8.

August 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-After saying good night to his family, a night watchman makes his rounds at a construction site, checking that all is well. As he sits down to enjoy a cup of coffee, a kitten appears and accompanies him on the rest of his nightly circuit as the site grows darker and more fanciful-"An excavator bows like a strange giraffe. A backhoe rises like a giant insect." When the kitten suddenly disappears, the watchman worries until the kitten returns. This time, rather than letting the kitten go, the watchman brings him home to his family. Yoo's distinctive block print illustrations and Sullivan's spare poetic prose render a mundane construction site magical, alive with nighttime sights and sounds, and make the watchman's emotions so heartfelt, readers will worry and rejoice along with him. VERDICT Based on true events, an unusual story of friendship so deftly executed it should be welcome in most collections.-Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2018
Preschool-G *Starred Review* As a man prepares to head off to work in the evening, he lovingly says goodbye to his family and drives away as the sun sets, on his way to the construction site where he works as a night watchman. Against dusky blue, shadow-filled scenes, the night watchman does his rounds, walking through the lots filled with construction vehicles and half-built buildings. As he makes sure everything is in order, he comes across a small gray kitten, and the two share his meal and walk through the construction site together. The night watchman's good heart is evident when the kitten disappears from view, and he worries as he hears sounds of dogs and cars. Luckily, the kitten returns, and young readers will be happy knowing the kitten has found a good forever home. The pithy, poetic text brings a sense of calm and wonder, and onomatopoeic words note the many sounds the watchman hears in the quiet of the dark night. Yoo's textured, serene artwork in beautiful saturated tones perfectly complements Sullivan's lines and conveys a beauty in the night and the construction site that readers might otherwise miss. As the kitten and the night watchman make their rounds, trucks turn into elephants, cranes into giraffes, and a regular night of work turns into a magical night filled with the promise of friendship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)