KITTYCAT LULLABY

A young kitten is softly serenaded off to sleep in this cozy tale. Playful rhymes highlight a bustling day in the life of a kitten: scampering after mice, stalking through the lawn, and wreaking havoc with its insatiable curiosity. As twilight falls, the sleepy feline clambers into a favored basket and settles in for a peaceful snooze, secure in the fact that the loving narrator will watch over her. Spinelli’s (In My New Yellow Shirt, p. 746, etc.) comforting poem gently moves readers from playtime to bedtime. Her rhymes are a beguiling blend of whimsy and wonder; interspersed among wry verses that capture the frisky nature of young felines are simple lines filled with bewitching imagery. “Smile your cozy cat grin / Purr your drowsy purr / Snuggle as the bright moon / Dapples down your fur.” Mortimer’s gorgeously detailed, life-like watercolors depicting the rambunctious feline will have readers reaching out to stroke the impossibly soft-looking fur. She also adds a dash of sly humor to her illustrations. Throughout the tale, a mouse can be spotted in every spread, with sometimes just a tail or inquisitive ears visible. This game of cat and mouse concludes with the final illustration showing the two blissfully snuggled up together, fast asleep. Warm and inviting: an ideal wind-down tale for bedtime. (Picture book. 3-5)