Bathe the Cat. Alice B. McGinty. Illustrated by David Roberts. 2022. 48 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Come on folks, it's time to clean! Upstairs, downstairs, in-between. It's such a mess! If Grandma sees...she comes at two, so HURRY please!
Premise/plot: Two dads and three kids race against the clock as the cat sabotages the list of chores (magnetic letters on the refrigerator) all in the cat's attempt to avoid getting a bath. As the letters get scrambled (by the cat) and the chores become nonsensical, mischief occurs--or nearly so. The cat isn't really in danger of getting mowed. (But the floor does get fed.) This scramble occurs several times throughout the book as it gets closer and closer to two o'clock. Will the cat be successful in his attempts???
My thoughts: I thought the chore scrambling was mostly amusing. I didn't love, love, love this one. Nor did I hate it. (I'd never go that far.) It just didn't quite meet my expectations. Reading in general is subjective. Reading picture books is especially so. Not every reader is going to *love* a book. A book can not be a good fit for you and be a great fit for another reader.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers
