Where Is Tippy Toes?

July 5, 2010
Tippy Toes is an orange cat with expressive lime-green eyes and a penchant for exploration. Gentle rhymes speculate on Tippy's self-assured movements, as die-cut pages and flaps reveal his daily (and nightly) activities. A nervous mouse in a hole knows "the soft pit pat.../ of Tippy Toes's step on his welcome mat," and when Tippy steps out for his nocturnal adventures, his zingy eyes blend in with a sky full of fireflies. Sometimes Tippy's "purring snore" gives him away, as when he sleeps in a messy dresser drawer, unveiled behind a large flap, and sometimes it's the tracks he leaves behind: "And everyone knows, but they don't know why,/ he tippy toed through the blueberry pie!" Lewin's (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type) smudgy watercolors—traced with bold, chalky outlines—convey Tippy's ever-inquisitive but lovable feline nature, as he trades his nighttime wanderings to curl up with a sleeping boy beneath a starry blanket: "No, nobody knows where Tippy Toes creeps/ when darkness falls and the whole world sleeps... except me." Readers fascinated by the lives of their pets should welcome this tender offering. Ages 3–7.

September 1, 2010

PreS-K-His white paw, green eyes, and orange tail peek out from behind die-cuts, but readers have to lift the flaps to see Tippy Toes in action. The feline perks up to watch a butterfly in the garden, takes a shortcut across the kitchen counter by walking through a blueberry pie, and darts off the page to avoid a spray of water. Lewin's vivacious cartoons capture a day in the life of a lively cat, in plain view by day, mysterious at night. Oversize watercolors outlined in a thick black line add humor to the text (a "No Cats!" sign above the mouse hole) and the bright hues seen in the flowers, sun, and cat's fur enhance the changing backgrounds. Rhyming sentences come together with the turn of a page and continue to the satisfying page turn at the end. This cat's sun up to sun down routine makes an excellent choice for those looking for a new bedtime story.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.