A girl adopts a stray cat who bonds with her whole family in Hooks’ debut picture book.

The narrator, a young girl with brown skin and a poofy brown bun, recalls how Tiger D. Cat became part of her family. When she was 7, some neighborhood boys chased the orange tabby into her yard. Leaping to the cat’s defense, she told the boys to leave the cat alone, “or I’ll tell my mom!” The cat is shy around his rescuer, but soon he starts appearing at the girl’s house every day. After the narrator promises to feed and care for the cat, the family gives him a cardboard box to sleep in, later upgrading the accommodations to a weather-proof pet shelter (“it’s actually a doghouse—don’t tell Tiger”). The girl and her siblings play with Tiger every day, and the narrator dresses him up in silly costumes. As the story progresses, the girl tells more stories about Tiger’s behaviors and the events that influenced them. Although Tiger is a natural hunter, he learns not to go after birds when a flock of them tries to peck his head. Tiger discovers the consequences of washing up in the muddy drainpipe when the narrator and her brother give him a real bath, and he faces a scary health challenge after fighting with another neighborhood cat. Hooks captures a genuine 10-year-old’s voice, using accessible vocabulary for independent readers of the same age. While many upper elementary students may have graduated from picture books, the hefty amount of text on each page gives this narrative a more advanced feel. The digital illustrations ably support the story, though the flat geometric backgrounds do little to offer a sense of depth or setting. The main character and her family, who share the same coloration, are realistically depicted, and Tiger himself steals the show with his convincing feline expressions.

A solid slice-of-life tale sure to appeal to young pet owners.