If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give...)

If you give an adorable gray kitten a supporting role in a popular series, he'll cry out for a leadand thus, this latest entry from Numeroff and Bond, which features a cat that first appeared in "If You Give a Pig a Party". Like its predecessors, the story bubbles with cascading if... then silliness: a girl's granting of a cupcake, for example, leads to a request for sprinkles, which causes a mess; cleaning up gets the cat overheated, which prompts a trip to the beach, and so forth. Some of the connections feel forced even for this series (a ride on a merry-go-round whale inspires a wish to go to a science museum), but the vivacity of the drawings and pertness of the kitty protagonist make up for the shortcomings. Besides, a lot of the series' appeal can be credited to the competency and ingenuity of the various human enablers in the books. While sometimes baffled by the goings-on, the girl in these pages is able to roll with the punchesunlike many adults. Final art not seen by "PW". Ages 37. "(Oct.)" Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2This story begins with a girl, a cat that originally appeared in Numeroff's "If You Give a Pig a Party" (HarperCollins, 2005), and a cupcake. The cat asks for some sprinkles, and naturally, they spill on the floor. Cleaning them up makes the cat hot, so he asks for a bathing suit, and hijinks ensue. The resulting series of events leads the protagonist and the cat to the beach, into a boat, through an amusement park, and eventually back to the sprinkles and another cupcake. The familiar madcap illustrations contrast a gleefully mischievous gray cat with a bemused blond girl. The tone is wry, and the story features the zany childhood logic of the earlier titles by this creative team. The concept is beginning to wear thin, but the book will be popular among fans of the series."Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, MD" Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.