Training Tallulah

by Rosie Reeve

Overview

When Tom met Tallulah, he was just a shy little kitten. But Tallulah knew just how to make him feel at home. Tallulah, you see, is very good at speaking CAT. She can always tell exactly what Tom wants from a simple "purr" or "meow". They are the perfect team and best friends...until Tom decides to learn HUMAN. Suddenly their relationship is turned topsy-turvy as Tom starts dressing, walking, and talking like a human...and Rosie won't stop acting like a cat! But what will happen when Tom starts wondering...what would it be like to have a dog for a pet? This rebelliously funny picture book from illustrative veteran Rosie Reeve will leave readers wondering . . . exactly how much trouble can one rascally cat get up to?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802736758
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

ROSIE REEVE is a well-known illustrator with a host of successful children's books under her belt. Training Tallulah is Rosie's first book for Walker and the first picture book she has written herself. Rosie now lives in London with her three children.
www.rosiereeve.co.uk
Rosie studied fine art at the Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University. After having three children she became an illustrator. She thinks 'It's the best job, ever'.
http://www.rosiereeve.co.uk/

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—Tallulah woos her shy new kitten, Tom, with patience and considerate acts, such as creating a map to the best catnap spots and demonstrating how to use the pet door. Tom soon relaxes into home life and begins to expertly copy human behavior. He quietly observes, then masters, teeth brushing and fashion, but despairs that Tallulah's continued attempts to be a cat are less successful. He boxes her up in the crate from whence he came and returns her to the pet shop, asking for a puppy. Tables turn yet again when readers see Tallulah take on the role of dog, gnawing a bone on the sofa as Tom reads a puppy training manual. Reeve's mixed-media art brings festive colors and homey details to this chuckle-worthy tale for cat lovers.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal

10/21/2013
British illustrator Reeve (My Friend Fred) makes her debut as an author with an unusual tale of new pets and role reversals. The book opens as a standard getting-to-know-you story as a girl named Tallulah tries to help her skittish new cat, Tom, feel at home—she leaves him a small saucer of milk, makes him a toy, and helps him learn the lay of the land. Tom appreciates her efforts and decides that “since Tallulah seemed to be so good at Cat, he should try to learn Human.” Notebook in paw, Tom observes Tallulah’s every move, learning how to dress, brush his teeth, and eat breakfast just like her. As Tom becomes increasingly human in his behavior, Talullah embraces her inner cat. Reeve’s mixed-media illustrations capably amplify the humor of the premise (Tallulah is shown sleeping in Tom’s old cardboard box while he gets the bed), but the wrap-up misfires. The strange Single White Female turn the book takes at the end is likely to both catch readers by surprise and leave them scratching their heads. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

You can't deny that its weirdness is pretty darn fun.” —Booklist

“Reeve's mixed-media art brings festive colors and homey details to this chuckle-worthy tale for cat lovers.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2013-10-02
If a human can be very good at understanding Cat, how about the other way round? "When Tom met Tallulah he was extremely shy--too shy to even come out of his box." Tallulah knows what to do. She gives him a saucer of milk and a tour of the house (map of great places to catnap included). She shows him his cat door and makes him a toy. She is so good at understanding him, Tom wants to "learn Human." He studies what she does and takes notes. When Tom perfects being a human, he finds Tallulah needs training to be a better cat. With patience she comes along nicely. That's when he takes her to the pet shop to exchange her for a puppy. British illustrator Reeve's solo effort, published under the title When Tom Met Tallulah in her native country in 2013, is a bit odd. The illustrations are charmingly silly, but the story baffles. The title page reads "Tom and Tallulah are not exactly best friends right now…." It's hard to know whether that's before she brings him home in that box or if it follows his training her to be a dog, which is what appears to be happening in the final illustration despite his having exchanged her at the pet shop. This may satisfy absurdist kitty fans but leave others scratching their heads. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews