The Scariest Kitten in the World

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The Scariest Kitten in the World

Board Book

$8.99

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Board Book
$8.99

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Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on July 8, 2025
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Overview

The Scariest Kitten in the World is a hilarious picture book by Kate Messner and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley in the vein of The Monster at the End of This Book about a not-so-scary kitten and a not-too-terrifying haunted house.

WARNING! This is a VERY scary story.

It is the most spine-chilling story anyone could ever read.

It takes place in a horrifying haunted house (okay, not that terrifying) . . .

with a creepy creature (well, maybe not that creepy) . . .

and its frightening friends (but are they that frightening?).

Seriously. You’re going to be scared right out of your underpants by these guys!

There’s no way they’re the cutest little critters you’ve ever seen . . . right?

Packed with humor and heart and adorable illustrations, this not-quite-scary story will keep you laughing until the very last page.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374393731
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	07/08/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Kate Messner is a New York Times–bestselling author of multiple children’s books, among them Over and Under the Pond, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, The Brilliant Deep, and How to Read a Story. Before becoming a full-time writer, Kate was a TV news reporter as well as an educator who spent fifteen years teaching middle school English. These days, she splits her time between Lake Champlain and southwest Florida and is trying to summit all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in between book deadlines.

MacKenzie Haley is an illustrator, runner, and cat lover who currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky. Her books include The Ninja Club Sleepover, Pega Sisters Go to Camp, and Funny Little Ghost. She has currently reached the maximum amount of cat shirts a grown woman is allowed to have, and is banned from buying any more (but can accept them as gifts).

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2023
“It’s not too late for you to choose a different book about something more pleasant,” an unseen narrator warns as readers enter a gothic, albeit bright pink, mansion at the start of this picture book; “When you turn the page and have to run screaming for your mama, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” But given that the cover image boasts an adorable white kitten with pink ears and a single fang, it’s evident that something winsome, rather than wicked, this way comes. Sure enough, digitally finished pen and pencil cartooning by Haley (Patrick’s Polka-Dot Tights) reveals the narrator to be the cover-art kitty, whose idea of frightening the audience is letting out a cute “Grrrrarrr!” When it calls its “TERRIFYING FRIENDS” for backup, a craft sesh results in an array of signs for the baby animal colleagues, including a “Spooky Baby Goat” sporting adorable ghost pajamas. What’s a would-be ghoul to do? Happily, a pale-skinned child with curly red hair soon provides the answer: a bubble bath and bedtime under a full moon. Mock-horror text by Messner (Only the Best) has oodles of performance potential, while the art’s sweet-natured, wink-wink personality should remind readers of the sense of empowerment and glee that can come from playing monster. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Nicole Tugeau, Tugeau 2. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Messner goes full-on goofy with this tale of a feline determined to frighten. Haley’s not-so-dark cartoon illustrations of pudgy, sweet animals perfectly contradict the kitty’s narration... this is sure to have ’em [readers] howling (with laughter)." —Kirkus
"Mock-horror text by Messner has oodles of performance potential, while the art’s sweet-natured, wink-wink personality should remind readers of the sense of empowerment and glee that can come from playing monster." —Publishers Weekly
"Messner’s lively text is humorously offset and extended in Haley’s vibrant cartoon illustrations... A good choice for fans of the classic There's a Monster at the End of this Book." —Booklist
"The illustrations and text work together seamlessly, creating a masterful story hour experience that will be enjoyed over and over...A funny, perfectly childlike conceit explored to its full capacity for chuckles." —School Library Journal
"The well-paced text, vibrant pencil and digitally painted illustrations, and effective use of page-turns heighten the drama—and the silliness." —Horn Book
"The text of this picture book is wordier, so older viewers might want to test their reading skills by trying it alone, while younger viewers could benefit from a reading in a melodramatic spooky voice to amp up the tension before the hilarity." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

08/01/2023
PreS-Gr 2—While the creatures within this beguiling book would like readers to "Behold the terror!" most readers will find that "hold back the laughs" is more befitting. Readers are warned, encouraged to think of happy thoughts, anything but to continue through this title of (tongue firmly planted in cheek) chills and thrills. But, of course, readers will be turning the pages and read-aloud audiences will be calling out to continue as an adorable white kitten, two cute puppies, some chicks, and more try to be scary. When they can't scare "you," the reader, on face value, they don costumes and try again. The scariest "ghost of a bloodthirsty duckling" covered in a flowered sheet will not scare anyone, but it will have readers laughing. The illustrations and text work together seamlessly, creating a masterful story hour experience that will be enjoyed over and over. VERDICT A funny, perfectly childlike conceit explored to its full capacity for chuckles.—John Scott

School Library Journal

2023-05-09
A terrifying tome guaranteed to scare the stuffin’ outta ya (not really).
After a warning and a suggestion that readers find friendlier reading material about rainbows and such, the tale opens on a dismal, decrepit house (on a dark and stormy night, of course). Down a dim hallway sits a “ragged old door.” “And SOMETHING WAS THUMPING BEHIND THAT DOOR.” The door creaks open. A flash of lightning throws a menacing shadow across the floor—“Are you sure you want to turn the page?” The narrator notes that readers might rather read about ice cream sandwiches or crayons…for on the next page, the narrator is revealed to be…a tiny, white kitten with one wee fang (horrifying, huh?) The kitten’s not pleased that readers are laughing. The feline calls on a bevy of fiendish friends, among them adorable puppies (not menacing) and a plump yellow chick yelling “BOO!” (totally not bloodcurdling). The kitten’s sure the whole group can be made over to chill hearts. Nope. But wait…what’s that at the door? Messner goes full-on goofy with this tale of a feline determined to frighten. Haley’s not-so-dark cartoon illustrations of pudgy, sweet animals perfectly contradict the kitty’s narration. The cover featuring the cutie-patootie, jewel-eyed kitty spoils the central joke a bit, but hammed-up to the correct degree, this is sure to have ’em howling (with laughter, not fear) in the aisles. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Diverting feline fun for Halloween (or any time of year). (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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