Out of Sight Till Tonight!

May 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-The Cat in the Hat (featured in the PBS kids series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!) is back with light facts about nocturnal animals. He wakes two children, Sally and Dick, and invites them to board his convertible three-wheel hovercraft to "meet some of the critters that come out at night." The Cat discusses the reasons why some creatures are active in the dark. Through accessible, rhyming text, Rabe describes topics such as habitat, mating habits, and physical adaptations (for instance, the large ear holes that allow owls to hear their prey both above and below ground). Text boxes define words such as nocturnal and diurnal and provide pronunciation guides. Though the cartoon illustrations portray the activities of the various animals realistically, they are recognizably Seuss-like and will engage fans. VERDICT This simple and useful overview will bolster juvenile nonfiction easy reader collections.-Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
The Cat in the Hat takes readers on a nighttime around-the-world journey to learn about nocturnal animals, including owls, toads, banded geckos, and raccoons. The Cat offers one or two superficial facts about each creature, touching on their physical adaptations. The clunky rhymes are given a boost by the faux-Seuss illustrations, but the pages can be chaotic. Reading list. Glos., ind.

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