THIS LITTLE KITTY IN THE GARDEN

The five rambunctious kitties of Sakura Way take up gardening (sort of).

In their second outing, after This Little Kitty (2023), the kitty siblings go out into the yard to “help” their humans with spring planting (and, of course, play). “This little kitty / fetches from the cart: / tools, hats, gloves, / and a helpful grower’s chart.” One cat sneezes after investigating the flowers. The kitties watch bees and butterflies and playfully poke a caterpillar (well, it looks like a cat toy). They’re startled by a bunny and then get down to some digging. Occasional napping might occur as the kitties’ humans start planting. One cat helps with the vines (again…looks like a cat toy), and water is always interesting (until you get wet). “Whew! Everything is planted. / Another spring success! / Oh dear, kitties. / We’ve made quite the mess!” While the humans clean up, the grubby felines…snooze in the garden bed. Obuhanych’s follow-up to her authorial debut has just as much cattitude as the first. With loads of feline charm, the cut-paper, charcoal, and colored-pencil illustrations communicate each cat’s personality, from the one-eyed tuxedo cat to the grumpy, gray Scottish Fold. Humans (one light-skinned, one dark-skinned) are just hands or legs; this is all about the cats—as it should be.

Plenty of gardening giggles for cat lovers.