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CAT DIARIES

SECRET WRITINGS OF THE MEOW SOCIETY

On the third full moon of the year, the MEOW (Memories Expressed in Our Writing) Society meets so cats from all over the world can get together to share their diaries and those of their ancestors. Fuzzy tells of her first Christmas tree and the perfect shiny red bauble that causes her a lot of trouble. Chico, the world’s smallest cat, tells his story of stopping a crime in Spanish (with subtitles). Go-Go, the star of a series of picture books, creates a scene at an author signing. Miu the Great Cat of ancient Egypt, learns there IS value in the slobbery Abu, the Royal Dog. And Library Cat learns about himself and his people’s history at storytime. Byars and her daughters Myers and Duffey follow Dog Diaries (2007) with a collection of feline short stories sure to please cats and the people who love them. Brooks’s black-and-white cagy, cute and cool kitties decorate nearly every page. A great choice for newly independent readers or sharing with groups and a terrific lead-in to Esther Averill’s stories about Jenny Linsky. (Animal fantasy. 6-10)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8717-8

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010

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TROUBLING TONSILS!

From the Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales! series

Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.

What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.

“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.

Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9781665961080

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

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