Being a Cat: A Tail of Curiosity

by Maria Gianferrari, Pete Oswald (Illustrator)

Overview

Be as curious as a cat with this irresistible companion to Being a Dog by beloved author Maria Gianferrari and #1 New York Times bestselling artist Pete Oswald.

Join a child and their cat as they embrace their curiosity: wandering, exploring, and discovering all day long. This sweet and fun story is sure to spark wonder in readers everywhere.

Engaging backmatter includes fascinating facts about cat behavior that will feed readers’ curiosity. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063067929
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	496,656
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Maria Gianferrari and her rescue dog, Maple, play race-and-chase in Massachusetts, rain or shine. She’s the author of Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness and these other pawsome dog “tails”: the Penny & Jelly books, Hello Goodbye Dog, Operation Rescue Dog, and To Dogs with Love. Can you tell that Maria loves dogs? Writing Being a Dog helped Maria feel joy again after losing her rescue dog, Becca. You can learn more about Maria at her website, mariagianferrari.com

Pete Oswald is an LA-based artist, kid lit author/illustrator, and production designer. Pete is the illustrator of the Food Group series by Jory John and the Cranky series by Phuc Tran as well as many other picture books. When Pete is not working on books, he is helping to uplift many of the most successful animated franchises, as a character designer, concept artist, and production designer. Pete lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

Sure to satisfy even the most curious of cat lovers.  — Kirkus Reviews

This one begs to be read again and again. An easy purchase and surefire hit that will especially resonate with young cat fans. — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

05/05/2023

PreS-Gr 1—A companion to the very funny Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness, the dynamite team of Gianferrari and Oswald now invite young feline fans to "seek and search," "trill when you're happy," "hiss when you're mad," "and always preen in between." Oswald's irresistible illustrations depict a young brown-skinned girl and her tabby cat in various relatable scenes in the house. The cat watches butterflies and birds outside the window, dozes in a laundry basket filled with clothes, teeters on a bookshelf, and plays with her human companion. Preschoolers will delight in playful scenes such as the girl and her cat both in eye patches and pirate gear ("surveying everything around you") and sitting in boxes decorated as firetrucks ("a box is simply the best") with all the humor sprinkled in. Back matter includes information about cats and instructions for expressing emotions using the body and leaping like a cat. This one begs to be read again and again. VERDICT An easy purchase and surefire hit that will especially resonate with young cat fans.—Carrie Voliva

School Library Journal

2023-01-25
What’s it like being a cat?

“Can you be like a cat? / Being a cat / is seeking— // watching, wondering, wandering, / surveying / everything / around you.” “Are you happy? / Trilllllll./ (In between preen.) / What’s that over there…?” A brown-skinned child and a tabby cat explore answers to questions about cat behavior in very simple text. What happens when cats are tired? (They take naps in various places.) What happens when cats are mad? (Hissing ensues, of course.) Ways that cats say they love someone? Head bunting, blinking, twining between legs…and plenty of purring. Text and illustrations work well together to explain puss behavior to young kitty lovers. Oswald’s cutout paper and watercolor textures, digitally finished, will draw all young feline fans in. Though the vocabulary might be above the target audience’s understanding in many instances, the illustrations do an excellent job of communicating (often with humor) exactly what's going on. The book wraps up with a double-page spread of cat attributes (tongue, whiskers, sense of smell, claws) with paragraphlong explanations, another double-page spread on feline body language, instructions on leaping like a cat, and a list of cat facts. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sure to satisfy even the most curious of cat lovers. (Informational picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews