THE VALENTINE CAT
by Ann Whitehead Nagda & illustrated by Stephanie Roth
As Valentine’s Day approaches in Mrs. Steele’s fourth-grade classroom, Jenny finds herself preoccupied with a looming catastrophe of her own: Little brother Toby’s asthma has forced the eviction of her beloved cat. Munchkin doesn’t like Richard’s dog, Susan’s mother doesn’t like Munchkin; in desperation, Jenny suggests that he live at school for a couple of weeks in the hope that Mrs. Steele will fall in love and take him home. Nagda and Roth again (The Perfect Cat-Sitter, 2007, etc.) present chapter-book readers with a solid story. Jenny’s emotional upheaval and schoolwork travails are entirely realistic and sympathetic, and Munchkin is a fully realized character that kids will root for, along with Jenny. (Fiction. 7-10)