Katz Cowley

Mar 21, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Kimberly Snyder |James Dean |Craig Smith |Katz Cowley

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose amongPete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude. If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations.

May 9, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | Helen Yoon |Craig Smith |Katz Cowley

by Helen Yoon ; illustrated by Helen Yoon ‧ A child has lost their invisible dinosaur! With impeccable comedic timing, a small Asian-presenting child with pale skin and straight black hair tied into spiky pigtails explains their predicament. Their dinosaur had been dirty, but after a bath, he disappeared.

May 2, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | Craig Smith |Katz Cowley |Tedd Arnold

A TINY TREASURE HUNT by Jamie Michalak ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy ‧ In this follow-up to Dakota Crumb (2021), a request from her cousin Julien sends a mouse investigator to Paris to hunt down a most important book. As oblique, rhymed hints lead Dakota into a shop called Le Mystére and then through a series of book-filled rooms, Murphy’s precisely drawn interiors, festooned with small details, invite readers to follow along and, perhaps, be first to spot the next clue.

Mar 1, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | James Dean |Craig Smith |Katz Cowley |Marietta Apollonio

by Marietta Apollonio ; illustrated by Marietta Apollonio ‧ After he upends a book cart, will an orange feline ever again be welcomed into the library? “Jack [sneaks] through the doors of the library each morning.” He accidentally knocks over the book cart after curling up on a shelf and dozing during storytime. So light-skinned Ms. Fisher, the librarian, who is “not a cat person,” posts a sign to keep Jack out.