How to Give Your Cat a Bath: In Five Easy Steps

PreS-Gr 2 In this playful take on an instruction manual for kid cat owners, an unidentified narrator struggles to guide a pink-haired girl with pigtail buns on how to bathe her cat, Mr. Flea. Of course, what the narrator believes should be a simple, five-step task easily evolves into 10 increasingly complicated steps with humorous detours, like Mr. Flea going into hiding, milk and cookie breaks for the tired cat owner, and a soggy mess from an overflowing bathtub. The story's visual presentation is charming on many levels. Lots of negative space balances each spread, and helps highlight Martz's entertaining, digitally colored ink drawings. Plus, the thoughtful use of fonts serves as a valuable storytelling aid. For example, the narrator's businesslike personality is represented by easy-to-read, basic fonts, while the use of a handwritten font in stretchy speech bubbles gives voice to the pink-haired girl. These details result in a pleasing and well-executed story that really is the cat's meow. VERDICT An excellent choice for independent reading and sharing in small groups.—Phuong Vu, West Jordan Library, UT

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

A child confidently educates readers about the finer points of cat bathing. From the get-go, things don't go as planned: first, the girl overfills the tub. "Mr. Flea," a fluffy white cat with a pink nose that matches the girl's pigtails, catches on to what's happening and flees ("Step Two: Put your cat in the--wait, where is the cat?" Winstanley writes). After a housewide search for Mr. Flea, the girl takes a break for milk and cookies that is thwarted by the dive-bombing kitty, precipitating a return to the bathtub, another escape, and a seriously flooded bathroom. Martz's expressive art lays out the runaway circumstances through vignettelike passages and dialogue balloons, capturing the experience of well-laid plans quickly unraveling into disaster. Ages 3-7. (Jan.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PRAISE FOR How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps

"This laugh-out-loud picture book can serve as a beginning reader. . . . The inevitable ending will delight both children and adults and this title will be requested over and over." —Starred Review, Booklist

"Early-years students will love the humour and irony of the situation. Highly recommended." —Highly Recommended, Resource Links

"As the chaos unfolds, viewers will be delighted to track the cat through the chase scenes. . . . There's a wry humor in the unseen narrator's directives, and the text makes a particularly amusing counterpart to the little girl's visibly increasing frustration with the whole endeavor." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] pleasing and well-executed story that really is the cat's meow. An excellent choice for independent reading and sharing in small groups." —School Library Journal

"Everyone will appreciate this delightful book." —Imaginary Elevators

"Martz's expressive art lays out the runaway circumstances through vignettelike passages and dialogue balloons, capturing the experience of well-laid plans quickly unraveling into disaster." —Publishers Weekly

"Adorably frustrating . . . will have young readers slapping their foreheads in exasperation, but will reward them with a sweet, funny ending . . . Martz's colourful line drawings match the happy, manic energy." —New York Times