What Cats Want for Christmas

by Kandy Radzinski (Illustrator), Kandy Radzinski

Overview

It's the season for giving but do you know what your cat really wants for Christmas? From Kandy Radzinski, the creator of the bestselling The Twelve Cats of Christmas, comes another yuletide treat with an animal twist. What Cats Want for Christmas gives a laugh-out-loud look into the hearts and minds of felines at holiday time. With clever rhymes and colorful illustrations, now cats get their chance to pen a letter to Santa. Forget the catnip! Whether it's Benny who longs for a sweater -- knit of a red Irish setter or Arty who wants a silver dish -- filled with little silver fish, Santa (and readers of all ages) will chuckle with delight at this fun-filled wish list. Cat owners will be tempted to leave this book open to share with their favorite pet. It's the purr-fect gift!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627532495
Publisher:	Sleeping Bear Press
Publication date:	08/15/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

Editorial Reviews

Fourteen exquisitely rendered cats present their Christmas wish lists to Santa. Each note (unfortunately) rhymes, and while some of the rhymes are natural and unforced ("I would like a big silver dish filled with little silver fish"), others serve as an object lesson for why so many children's book editors refuse to look at rhyming picture book texts ("I think I'd look better with a curly perm to cover the effects of ringworm"). Many of the notes highlight the bloodthirstiness of cats (their lust for birds or fish) and their hatred of dogs (though it is doubtful that young readers will recognize the words "Pomeranian" and "Pekinese"). While the final note to Santa ("I'm tired of being all alone. Can you find someone to love me and give me a home?") provides a suitably heartwarming conclusion to the collection, the overall tone of the "gimme" notes is undeniably unpleasant. But, in compensation, Radzinksi's art is a visual feast. Each page has gorgeous Jan-Brett-style borders, festooned with whimsical cat gingerbread cookies, cat snowmen, and ribbons and garlands galore. Every hair and whisker of the preening felines is meticulously depicted. Best is the title page, which features a gingerbread mouse with one foot nibbled off. Overall, the combination of weak text and sumptuous art is likely to appeal more to adult cat fanciers than to children seeking a satisfying holiday read-aloud.

Children's Literature - Claudia Mills