Review: The learning adventures of napping Cassidy the Cat Cabbie
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 18, 2014
Christina Tran moved from her home in Kansas to Chicago to serves as an editor and designer for a children's publishing company, and she spent time with adopted professional pet care. Her own cat Cassidy inspired this particular book (and indeed is listed as `co-author'!) as well as other works in poetry and stories. Being visually impaired she also has worked with people who are blind or visually impaired and focuses her creative output on issues of importance - diversity, empowerment and self-esteem. She is joined here by illustrator Karen Cortez who has been her book-creating partner on her past three books.The story is delivered in lively rhyming poetry and relates the tale of Cassidy the cat cabbie whose weakness is loving to take catnaps. His animal passengers know that if Cassidy starts to snore they must poke him to keep him awake. He takes his animal passengers to all manner of places. One passenger, Ginger the Cat, thought she would be able to keep Cassidy awake with music, but she forgot the music. She must stop for cupcakes for her sister's birthday and while Cassidy tries to stay awake, as soon as the engine hums he is cat napping. Though Cassidy ultimately gets Ginger to the bakery, he feels sad that he disappoints his passenger friends with his naps. Ginger has a plan: she has Cassidy sing funny songs. The plan works and soon all of his passengers sing along with him and instead of napping while driving he instead naps with his mistress Christi.Christine and Karen (and Cassidy) have created a fun, funny, entertaining book that is a delight to read and carries some subtle lessons with it. It is sure to be popular with youngsters. Grady Harp, February 14