Bits & Pieces

September 2, 2013
Life goes on: the tiny kitten that materialized in Schachner’s The Grannyman is now full grown—and something of an “odd duck,” as the author puts it. Tink isn’t the smartest cat (“maybe it was because his brain was the size of a frozen pea”), but he is beloved by his family, even when he tries to eat pool noodles, rubber bands, “and a slinky,” as a long list explains. This is clearly a very personal book for Schachner (the back flap displays a picture of her family’s cat of 20 years, Tink, with a slinky in his mouth), and the anecdotes feel ripped from oft-repeated family pet stories, whether it’s Tink licking a stick of butter left out or the way his body takes on certain slinkylike dimensions when he tries to sneak outdoors. Schachner’s warm prose and mixed-media artwork overflow with affection for both Tink and the SkippyJon-lookalike “little friend” who joins the family. But while cat-lovers (especially adult ones) will nod with recognition and appreciation, there’s very little in this meandering, episodic story to entice a broader readership. Ages 3–5.

September 15, 2013
Another charming slice-of-(real)-life story from veteran author/illustrator Schachner that will particularly please fans of The Grannyman (1999). Readers learn immediately that Tink, the feline main character who's loved to "bits and pieces" by his human family, is the kitten that was raised by Simon, the elderly Siamese cat in the earlier book. The narrator speculates that perhaps this unorthodox upbringing is the source of Tink's quirky habits. But really, his behavior seems completely catlike. Combining mixed-media illustrations and a conversational tone with a healthy dollop of humor, Schachner describes how Tink digs in the plants, sits on the newspaper, jumps into the middle of board games, stalks the bathtub and generally makes a beloved pest of himself. Breezy, colorful full-page paintings and multiple smaller vignettes are created with charcoal, pastel, watercolor and cut-paper collage to show these and other adventures, including a memorable trip to the vet. Though Schachner doesn't explicitly identify Tink's family, fans will likely recognize the two adorable girls who are his "sisters" as well as their parents, and they may even have some suspicions about the big-eared Siamese kitten that eventually joins the household. Their cozy home life contrasts effectively with the mild adventure Tink manages to tuck into his old age. Fellow cat fanciers will appreciate Schachner's low-key tale and share her unabashed love for her furry friend. (Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2013

K-Gr 1-Although Tink's brain is "the size of a frozen pea," his family loves their not-so-bright cat to bits. After a goatlike meal of household odds and ends lands him at the vet, their beloved boy gets a taste of the adventure and mystery of the great outdoors. His family gets him a brother for company, but he still longs for life on the outside. He finally sneaks out on his 20th birthday, and a day full of frolicking turns into a night of wandering, and he wakes lost and confused in an old tire. Two quick-thinking neighborhood girls save him from being carted off to a shelter and he is enthusiastically welcomed home. Schachner's smudgy, cheerful illustrations buoy up this story that is occasionally bogged down by an apparent attempt to squeeze the real Tink's long life into a few picture-book pages. Nonetheless, the author's fans and cat lovers will relate to the story of the feline's antics and the satisfying resolution.-Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, OH

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Preschool-G Tink is a beloved indoor pet with a brain the size of a frozen pea. No matter, his family loves him to bits and pieces. Schachner uses charcoal pencil, pan pencil, pastels, watercolor, and cut paper to glorify the antics of this beloved cat in full-bleed spreads and panels. When Tink's peculiar eating habits include devouring a flip-flop, three Chinese lanterns, some dollhouse furniture, and a Slinky, it's off to the kitty clinic for a tummy treatment. Even when his family finds him a new kitten named Little (and he is) to keep him company indoors, Tink still yearns for another outdoor experience. Finally, on his twentieth birthday, the old boy sneaks outside and has some intoxicating adventures in the big wide world. In a vibrant double-page spread, Tink strolls into the night, viewing the moon, the owls, and other nighttime creatures, and then realizes he is lost. All ends well with reassuring smiles between the two cats as they rest on the blue polka-dotted armchair. Fans of Schachner's Skippyjon Jones series should lap this one up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)