My Kitten
Rhythmic, rhyming verse follows a girl and her new kitten through a day of discovery and play. Kitten has breakfast and cleans up. She watches the goldfish swim and hops into a comfy chair. She learns lessons: No, kitten, / don t, kitten, / stop. Kitten, / claws, when she tries to claw the couch. And gets a suggested alternate behavior: Yes, kitten, / good, kitten, / nice, kitten, / paws, and is shown to her scratching post. Kitten plays with yarn, chases a squirrel, gets stuck up a tree and has milk before settling down to dream. This feline answer to My Pup (2008) by the same team is just as toe-tapping and easy to read as its canine predecessor. The sing-song-y rhyme may seem childish to older readers, but those just starting out will pick up words with the rhythm and repetition. The watercolor-and colored-pencil illustrations are both spot and full-bleed, and they match the action of the text wonderfully. Pussycat fans will delight in the contented orange kitten and her attentive little girl; repeated readings will be required. --KirkusK-Gr 1 A little girl wakes in the morning with her tawny kitten taking over her pillow. O Hair leads readers through their busy day in a rhyming text. They get tangled in yarn, chase squirrels, and the child has to rescue her pet from a tree. Throughout the day she gives it loving guidance. The full-bleed spreads show the playful feline s behavior. This is a strong choice for reading aloud and for beginning readers as it is composed of one- and two-word lines. Each page has four lines, and the first three end with the word kitten, with the last line always being just one word. Lyon s drawings are a capable partner to the minimal text, visually filling in all that is happening. The art is realistic and energetic, and the little girl has lots of personality. The colors are vibrant and show all of the kitten s movements perfectly. The poetic text and endearing illustrations make this book a winner. --School Library Journal, May, 2011