Matilda's Cat - Hardcover

Gravett, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1442475277 ISBN 13: 9781442475274

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

This delightful picture book with Emily Gravett’s signature twist ending sweetly depicts the relationship between a child and her beloved pet.

Matilda is desperate to figure out what her cat will enjoy. She tries everything she can think of: climbing trees, playing with wool, even tea parties and dress-up games, but as Matilda gets more and more creative in her entertainment attempts, her cat moves from unimpressed to terrified. Will Matilda ever figure out what her cat likes?

In the style of Dogs and Monkey and Me, this young picture book from Emily Gravett is an insightful, fond, and funny look at the relationship between a little girl and her cat that’s sure to strike a chord with anyone who’s ever loved a pet.

About this title

About the Author

Emily Gravett is the author and illustrator of many children’s books, including Matilda’s Cat, Again!, Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears (winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal), Meerkat Mail, Tidy, and Old Hat. Her first book, Wolves, was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration. Her second book, Orange Pear Apple Bear, was a Quills Award finalist, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Emily lives in Brighton, England, with her partner, their daughter, and the family dog. Visit her at EmilyGravett.com.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1—The day Matilda put on her cat suit and made mischief of one kind and another, her aloof and rather skittish feline just said, "No." Despite the child's best efforts, Matilda is unable to engage her pet in playing with wool or boxes, climbing trees, or riding bikes. After a failed tea party, drawing session, and bedtime story, the youngster takes off her cat suit and gets ready for bed and finally captures the tabby's attention. The energetic watercolor artwork is pure Gravett, with plenty of visual jokes and with characters—girl and cat—who express their feelings with every fiber of their being. For every overly exuberant youngster who has ever attempted to win the affections of a feline, this picture book offers reassurances that the friendship bond will most like occur but perhaps not on the child's timetable.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal\

Matilda, dressed in a ginger-striped cat costume, loves to play with her ginger-striped cat, but her poor cat doesn’t like anything Matilda wants to do. Appearing in hand-scrawled, pencil-like lettering on each double-page spread is a list of things Matilda thinks her cat will enjoy: “Matilda’s cat likes playing with wool.” But the cat hides behind the yarn basket instead of playing, so “playing with wool” gets scratched out. So does “riding bikes,” “funky hats,” “climbing trees,” and “bedtime stories” (though to be fair, it was a book about dogs). Eventually, after her cat has snubbed everything Matilda wants to do, she grumpily puts on her pj’s to go to bed, but all is well: there’s one thing the cat does like, and that’s Matilda. Gravett, the creator of Again! (2013), creates big, bold drawings against clean, white backgrounds, perfect for showcasing spunky Matilda, her uncooperative cat, and their odd-couple friendship, which happily succeeds even though they have nothing in common. Preschool-Grade 1. --Sarah Hunter

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1442475277
• ISBN 13: 9781442475274
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gravett Emily
• Number of pages: 32