Katie the Catsitter (Katie the Catsitter #1)

A little evil and a whole lotta fun.

Gr 3-6--Katie Spera, 12, lives in an alternate New York City where Yelp-related superheroes abound, but all she cares about is attending summer camp with her best friend, Bethany. Her mother can't afford it, so Katie tries job after job, all ending in comedic disaster, until she finds work caring for her neighbor's 217 genius felines. Herding cats is tough, but Katie figures it out, leaving her time to take part in fun activities in the city with her mom, worry that she and Bethany are growing apart, and wonder if her friendly, glamorous new employer is secretly the supervillain Mousetress. This middle grade comic from the creator of "Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye" is light and fun. Reminiscent of Raina Telgemeier's work, the art features a warm palette and lively, graceful linework that matches the upbeat characters and plot. While the story never gets too serious, there's a lot going on--friendships form and fade, Katie turns her love of animals into a plan for action, and many of the adults around Katie are not who she expected them to be. The book's final pages reveal that there will be a sequel; readers will also find a hilarious secret dossier on the 217 cats and brief bios that show how Venable and Yue used their passions as inspiration for the plot and design. Katie and her mother are white, Bethany is brown-skinned, and Katie's neighbor is Black. VERDICT A winsome mix of adventure, humor, and realistic middle grade problems, ideal for readers seeking the whimsy of Dav Pilkey's "Dog Man" tempered with the reassuring tone of Raina Telgemeier's work.--Amanda Charles, Los Angeles P.L.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"Who can possibly resist a team of super cats? Or a wonderful kid who gets swept up in the feline drama? I loved Katie!" —Lucy Knisley, New York Times bestselling author of Stepping Stones

"A winner." —Nick Bruel, New York Times bestselling author of the Bad Kitty series

"Super fun and utterly delightful." —Gene Luen Yang, New York Times bestselling author of American Born Chinese

Young readers will revel in the heroic antics, and older ones, like me, will be tickled by the Easter eggs strewn throughout. The sweet and funny nature of this book is expertly reflected in Yue's energetic art and seemingly effortless line work. —New York Times

★"Neko Atsume meets The Tick in this laugh-out-loud funny, well-paced series starter...Yue's expressive cartoons complement this enchanting story, the first in a series with a promising cast of characters—feline and otherwise." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A little evil and a whole lotta fun." —Kirkus Reviews

"A winsome mix of adventure, humor, and realistic middle grade problems, ideal for readers seeking the whimsy of Dav Pilkey's "Dog Man" tempered with thereassuring tone of Raina Telgemeier's work." —School Library Journal

"A pro-girl comic to encourage adventure, entrepreneurship, and excellent, pun-filled pet names."
-BCCB

"Venable's twisty plot swoops gleefully around Manhattan, touching on everything from animal activism to evolving relationships to a secret rescue mission, and combining to tell the story of one of the least boring summers ever." -BookPage