The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC's (the Hard Way)

Starred review from July 24, 2017
This gloriously fun escapade from McDonnell follows the misadventures of the eponymous red cat, who dashes out the front door of his home, only to be set upon, almost instantly, by an alligator, bear, chicken, and dragon. The book is wordless, other than capital and lowercase letters that correspond to each new character or event, creating a guessing game for readers in the process. In one scene, the pursuers and pursued are slipping and sliding on a patch of ice for I; a page turn, and they’re swinging from vines in a jungle. A king and his daughter get involved, parachutes manifest after a tumble off a cliff (“Nnnnnnnn Oooooooo!”), and there’s even a bathroom break. It’s teeming with visual wit, and McDonnell’s cartoons illustrate the emotional dramas of the chase with telegraphic clarity. Ages 3–6. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.

Starred review from June 1, 2017
This (mostly) wordless book opens with the titular little red cat running out of his house toward an alligator with open jaws, and a chase begins. Here and on each page with a distinct, new alphabetical element that follows are printed only the upper- and lowercase initials of the relevant word: "Aa." A bear follows the alligator, followed by a chicken, then a dragon, and an egg, which issues from the startled chicken upon espying the dragon. Cat, alligator, bear, chicken, and egg (which has tiny, pipestem legs) all put on (sun)glasses to avoid the glare of the dragon's fire, ice skate across a frozen pond, swing on vines through a jungle, and so on. Befitting the quirky visual narrative, the letters are a surprising mix: L is for a "lost" poster with the cat's picture on it, R is for a restroom, T is for tired, and W for wave, as the characters bid one another adieu. There's humor in small details and large, as in the double-page spread in which the characters plummet off a cliff and the text screams: "Nnnnnnnn Oooooooo!" Thank goodness they deploy parachutes in the following spread, which requires readers to turn the book 90 degrees for its full effect. McDonnell's drawings use simple lines to generate action, and the background is a white expanse that keeps the focus on the colored line figures. A legend in the back identifies the specific words referenced by the letters. Give this book an F, yes, an F: for fun and funny. (Picture book. 4-7)

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Starred review from August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-McDonnell's abecedarian tale takes a small scarlet cat on a breathtaking adventure. The clever tale-wordless except for two signs and one warning shout-begins when the feline notices his home's front door standing open and takes to the hills. He almost immediately comes upon a gape-mouthed Alligator, a climbing Bear, and an agitated Chicken along with a couple of other pursuers of the D and E variety. A chase begins with the cat leading his entourage through a day filled with ice and snow, a jungle, mountain peaks, and a potentially hazardous tumble off a high cliff. Humorous pen, ink, pencil and watercolor illustrations surrounded by copious white space are energetic and highly engaging for readers. The large letters of the alphabet appear near the top of the page and feature both capital and lowercase forms. While most illustrations offer a clear-cut answer to what each letter represents in the sequence, there are a few pages that require some thought; an answer key can be found at the end of the book. VERDICT A brilliant caper that young learners will want to pore over! A must-purchase.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

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