A Tail of Two Kitties

February 1, 2016
When disaster strikes in the high-rise across the street, what can two kitties do? Stick Cat lives with his human, Goose, on the 23rd floor of an apartment building in the city. Goose goes to work each day, but Stick Cat spends his free time with Edith, the chubby, dimwitted cat from the apartment next door, who squeezes (with difficulty) through a hole in the cabinet under the bathroom sink. They play StareDown and listen to Mr. Music tuning and playing pianos in the piano factory directly across the street. When Mr. Music's arms become trapped in a piano, Stick Cat knows they are the only ones who can help...but how? First he has to carefully talk Edith out of harebrained schemes like grabbing the legs of two pigeons and flying over. Can Stick Cat save the day? Watson jumps the species barrier, moving from suburban stray Stick Dog (2013) and his loopy friends to an urban kitty. Transitioning smoothly are the plentiful line drawings and the humor of misunderstanding. Fans of Stick Dog will enjoy this series kickoff whether they are cat kids or dog kids. Stick Cat...drawn to be a hero. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-11)

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November 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-This volume opens with the narrator addressing readers, begging for understanding about his mediocre drawing skills; he then describes an encounter with an "interesting" female classmate that inspired him to try a story about cats instead of writing another episode in the life of Stick Dog. A city dweller, Stick Cat lives in an apartment on the 23rd floor, and while his human roommate is at work, he spends his time with Edith, the next-door neighbor's cat. One day, as they are sitting in the window and enjoying the music coming from the piano factory across the alley, they notice that the musician has become trapped in the piano. Stick Cat realizes that they are the only ones that are aware of the man's predicament, and the two feline friends embark on a daring quest to save him. Like his canine counterpart, Stick Cat is clever and resourceful, but he must be very careful not to hurt the feelings of sensitive Edith when she shares her more harebrained ideas. Peppered with funny cartoonlike illustrations, this amusing and exciting story will have readers turning pages quickly to discover how the rescue attempt will end for these two brave and endearing cats. VERDICT Fans of Watson's "Stick Dog" series (Harper) and Nick Bruel's "Bad Kitty" chapter books (Macmillan) will especially enjoy this comical adventure; it will also appeal broadly to lovers of zany humor.-Sarah Reid, Broome County Public Library, Binghamton, NY

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