A Girl, a Boy, and a Monster Cat

by Gail Gauthier, Joe Cepeda (Illustrator)

Overview

Sam’s house would have been the perfect place for Brandon to go after school. The big-screen TV is on all the time, and Sam is a boy. Instead, Brandon’s mom sends him to Hannah’s, where he is forced to play imaginary games in which Hannah is always the hero. Even the cat, Buttercup, gets more exciting roles than Brandon. Then a new neighbor moves in with a tiny dog who is actually quite fierce. He gives Hannah lots of material for games, but when Buttercup defends her territory with some malicious tactics, reality becomes much more exciting than fiction.

With humor perfect for 2nd and 3rd graders, Gail is certain to win over this younger audience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101126998
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/21/2007
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Gail Gauthier writes in a spacious room her family refers to as "the office," but which everyone else knows as "the cellar." When she isn't writing or indulging in her habit of reading more than one book at a time, she tends to the business of running a family. She does a lot of "mom-type" stuff (such as masterminding birthday parties and driving unenthusiastic children to music lessons), helps with special events at the local elementary school, and chaperones field trips--activities that provide her with plenty of material about which to write. She lives in Conneticut with her husband and their two sons, William and Robert.

Editorial Reviews

Brandon hates Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons because his mom sends him to Hannah's house after school. Instead of watching TV, which Brandon wants to do, bossy Hannah invents all kinds of games-spy, cave explorer, pirates-with Brandon reluctantly in tow. Hannah's big, fat, orange, smelly cat, Buttercup, is often their "monster" target, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, her menacing pet dog becomes a real enemy. Bucky, a Chihuahua, looks like a cartoon rat with a collar, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for with a ferocious temperament. He's a perfect foil for Hannah's imaginative scenarios with Brandon as her accomplice. Who will triumph-monster cat, pipsqueak dog, pushy girl or patsy boy? For a younger audience than Cauthier's previous six books, her reliance on plot misses an opportunity for character development; Hannah is no Junie B. Jones or Gooney Bird. Illustrations could have helped, but Cepeda's black-and-white sharp-edged, angular drawings add little appeal. This mildly humorous, mid-level chapter book is a quick read, but lacks oomph. (Fiction. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews