Miss Meow

by Jane Smith

Overview

An imaginative story about childhood play and one welcoming family to a furry creature who wanders in!

Winner of a Certificate of Excellence, Cat Writers’ Association (F.5 Book: For Children & Young Adults — Illustration-Focused)

"This sweet book by Jane Smith is all about the joys of play, imagination and animal friendship, as well as big emotions and situations like anger and getting along with siblings."
--Catster Magazine

"This is a sweet book about the joys of play, imagination, and animal friendship. It also touches on familiar social-emotional experiences, like getting angry, sharing, and getting along with siblings. . . A sweet story for cat lovers."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Young feline fanatics will purr with delight at Jane Smith's tale of a little girl with a big imagination and an all-in love for cats. . . Smith's use of present tense puts kids in the middle of the action, while her vivid and evocative illustrations clearly depict the characters' emotions. . . Both a captivating story and an engaging way to talk to kids about their emotions and family relationships, Miss Meow is a purr-fect read aloud for all kids."
--Celebrate Picture Books

With her cat ears on, Miss Meow is the only feline of the house. She prowls proudly around her domain--until she discovers someone destroyed her favorite toy mouse!

But if it wasn't her little brother, then who could it be?

Filled with imagination and make-believe, Miss Meow shows that you can find new friends in the unlikeliest of places--your own home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513289465
Publisher:	West Margin Press
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jane Smith is an author and illustrator of children’s books like the Chloe Zoe! books, and has also created artwork for art licensing products. Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, she spent her childhood finding inspiration from the books her librarian mother brought home. This interest led to her earning her BFA in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art&Design and then to becoming an art director of children’s novelty books. She currently lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Reading Group Guide

Meow! (That’s cat for hello.) This is Miss Meow. She’s a cat.

Miss Meow loves to cuddle. If you pet her between her ears, she will purr really loud.
She’s an expert hunter. She chases her mouse. Miss Meow is very fast.

She refuses to take a bath. She’d rather lick herself clean.
Miss Meow hates being wet!

She loves napping in the sunshine on her pillow bed. It smells like her and her smell warns intruders to stay away.
She laps water from her water dish and nibbles cheese crackers from her food bowl. If anyone even thinks about stealing her snacks, Miss Meow hisses at them.

She scratches anyone who pulls her tail, even if it is her little brother, Felix. And it’s always Felix.
Miss Meow is territorial. She chases off intruders and protects all her favorite things.

Oh, no! What happened to Miss Meow’s mouse?!


Miss Meow’s fur stands straight up. Her ears flatten against her head. She knows who did this—who always does this!
Mom! Look what Felix did!” she yowls.

Miss Meow stalks toward her brother, pointing her claw. CRUNCH! Miss Meow’s food bowl has been knocked over. Cheese crackers are scattered across the floor.
“Grrr!” she growls. “Look what you did now! My snack is ruined!”

Mom picks up Felix. “What’s going on, Miss Meow?” she asks.
Miss Meow howls in frustration and scratches at the floor with her foot. Whoops! She slips on a wet patch. Miss Meow lands hard on all fours. Meee-OW!


Felix wiggles down. “Look!” he calls out. A mysterious trail of wet paw prints paces across the kitchen floor.
Miss Meow springs to her feet and prowls down the hall. The paw prints disappear into her room. Miss Meow peeks inside.

There’s a sopping wet intruder sleeping on her pillow bed! “Two Miss Meows!” Felix shrieks with delight. Startled, the soggy stray cat lifts his head and freezes.


Whoosh! Quick as a lightning flash, the stray cat streaks out the door.
That mouse-destroying, snack-spilling, bed-ruining bugaboo, thinks Miss Meow.

“Come back here!” she caterwauls as she chases after him. They bolt through the living room. They race across the playroom. They dart around and around the dining room, until…

Screeeeech! They skid to a stop in the kitchen. Miss Meow has him cornered! The stray cat claws at the window, desperate to escape. “Meee-yowl!” he wails.
Miss Meow’s heart softens. The stray cat is shivering. He hates being wet too!

Here, kitty. It’s okay,” she coos softly. Miss Meow holds out her hand to show she is friendly. Felix crawls up next to Miss Meow. “I’m sorry, Felix,” Miss Meow whispers. Felix purrs. The stray cat approaches cautiously and sniffs.

Then he rubs his head under her hand. Miss Meow pets him between his ears. He purrs really loud.
Suddenly, the cat snatches up her mouse. Felix and Miss Meow giggle as fluff flies everywhere.

It turned out the territory in Miss Meow’s heart was bigger than she’d thought.

Interviews

"Miss Meow is inspired by the classic childhood pastime of pretending to be a cat! This is such a universal experience from both the child and the parent perspective! I think nearly everyone at some point during their childhood (or alongside their kiddos!) gets down on hands-and-knees and meows and laps water from a dish! I, myself, certainly spent a fair amount of time as a kid pretending to be a cat, including even eating the dry cat food out of my pet’s dish! Oy!"

Editorial Reviews

Let's Talk Picture Books Crush of the Week!

"Illustrations are full of action, emotion and color."
—Youth Services Book Review

From the Publisher

2021-06-29
A young girl plays pretend cat until someone breaks her favorite mouse toy.

Miss Meow, a young girl in a cat costume, believes she is a cat. She loves to cuddle and even purrs when scratched between her ears. As a hunter, she is swift at chasing her wheeled mouse toy. She hates to get wet and would rather lick herself clean than take a bath. Miss Meow even eats her snacks from a food bowl on the floor. She scratches when Felix, her little brother, pulls her tail, and she protects her things. When Miss Meow discovers her favorite toy mouse is destroyed, she yowls at Felix in anger, throwing a tantrum. But Felix notices a mysterious trail of paw prints that are not Miss Meow’s, and soon the whole family works together to make a new furry friend. This is a sweet book about the joys of play, imagination, and animal friendship. It also touches on familiar social-emotional experiences, like getting angry, sharing, and getting along with siblings. The illustrations are bold and expressive, adding clues to how the mystery intruder came in. Miss Meow and her family have fair skin and different shades of brown hair.

A sweet story for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews