LAP CAT

A feline’s quest for a lap reaches epic—and disastrous—proportions.

Even on day 222 of searching, our hero still hasn’t found “the warm, soft comforting sensation many cats crave…the perfect lap.” Nevertheless, Lap Cat (who uses they/them pronouns) persists, chanting the word lap over and over. When the journey brings them to a local park, they try out a bucket belonging to a squirrel—“NOT a lap”—and, oops, they break it. Next, they visit a diner, where they make a sticky mess out of pancakes: “NOT a lap.” A sand castle at the beach? Nope. A whoopee cushion? No. Each new “lap” brings only chaos, and soon, Lap Cat’s reputation precedes them. When, at last, Lap Cat finds a “lap store,” the shop’s owner starts to kick them out. A new quest is born: If they make amends to the animals they've slighted, will they finally get a lap to call their own? Cull’s latest combines childlike cartoon humor with a medieval style and tone, resulting in comedic gold. Lap Cat’s bardlike dialogue, presented in speech bubbles and set in a Gothic typeface, contrasts hilariously with their mundane world. Careful readers will pick up on many details in the colorful illustrations, though they can be easy to miss, given the breezy pace. In a brilliant metafictional moment, an advance copy of the book appears in the joke store Lap Cat enters.

A rousing, rib-tickling tale.