Picture Book - Grumpy Cat - Britta Teckentrup (Author & Illustrator)
Recommended for: Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers
Have you ever seen something in a book and thought, 'Yes! I recognise that! It's ME!'. Well, I hope my cat was paying attention when I read this book out loud, because I swear it could have been written about him.
Now I know all cats can be grumpy, but seriously, this almost perfectly mirrors how my cat made friends with a kitten when we lived in Lincolnshire. The titular grumpy Cat of this story is a bit of a loner until one day he meets Kitten. Kitten is very taken to him, and wants to play, but Cat isn't having any of it. Eventually, Kitten gets into a bit of trouble, and after Cat rescues her, they become best friends. It's not a story that's particularly unusual, but it really did strike a chord with me. Change the fish that Cat brings Kitten at one point to a rabbit, and you've got the story of Octavian and Tilly (my cat and his girlfriend - boy did we feel cruel when we moved house). If you've read my review of Esme's Egg, you'll know I love a grumpy character, and especially so in this case. You're guaranteed to get a giggle if you know that one character's usually grumpy personality is getting taxed with another's boundless enthusiasm.
The illustrations are a very unique style, and I think they're brilliant. If I described them as 'choppy', does that make sense? I don't know. They just seem very 'choppy' to me. In a good way.
Somebody bring me more grumpy animal stories please, there's just something oh-so-charming about them.
9/10
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