MATTOO, LET’S PLAY!

Boisterous girl and quiet cat seem like an awkward match. Ruby likes to crash her cymbals, zoom around the house in a football helmet and blast off into outer space in a cardboard rocket ship. Her cat, Mattoo, however, clearly doesn’t want to be an astronaut. Not even a chocolate sundae and a jelly sandwich melt his feline aloofness. But when Ruby and pal Clemente fashion a stealthier adventure—a living-room safari—their game is purrrfect for the king of the household jungle, who likes both stalking and being stalked. And tuna is just the right treat! Mattoo goes from shy to playful in an instant. Judicious splashes of color brighten Luxbacher’s complex, mostly black-and-white illustrations, rendered in acrylic ink and collage. Ruby and Clemente appear as the few bright spots in the mostly monochromatic spreads, which shift gently into the surreal as their imaginations take over. Each picture tells a story. Anyone who has ever been owned by a cat can relate to her tale of patience rewarded. Simple and spot-on. (Picture book. 3-7)