No Cats in the Library

by Lauren Emmons

A stray cat follows her love of books all the way to a new library home in this charming debut picture book, perfect for fans of The Library Fish and Kitten and the Night Watchman .

Clarisse is a clever cat who loves books. She may not understand the dark, squiggly lines, but she can’t get enough of the pictures. One day, she stumbles upon a magical building where people walk in empty-handed and come out with an armload of books. She has to find a way inside!

There’s just one problem: NO CATS are allowed in the library! That’s not going to stop clever Clarisse, though. Once she sneaks in, she stumbles upon exciting new stories and even helps a little girl practice reading aloud. But when the librarian comes looking, will Clarisse be allowed to stay?

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Books About Books, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 2024

About the author

Lauren Emmons (they/them) is an illustrator and author of children’s books. They grew up in Minnesota exploring forests and learning important skills like turning the top of an acorn into a loud whistle. While they now live in North Dakota, they have lived all over the place - from California to Wisconsin to England.

They have a Masters Degree in Children’s Book Illustration from the prestigious Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England; and was an award winner in the World Illustration Awards. The first book they illustrated, Prak Fills The House, was published by Peachtree Publishing in 2023; and their debut author illustrated book, No Cats In The Library, was published by Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster in 2024.

They create their illustrations with a mixture of traditional and digital methods. They start an illustration by drawing in pencil using their trusty Prismacolors before scanning it into their computer to color it digitally. They also use a method inspired by screenprinting, which they used for No Cats In The Library.

When not illustrating you can find Lauren snuggled up with their dog and two cats to read, out on a walk birdwatching with their wonderful spouse, or doing one of their many crafts while listening to a d&d podcast.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was cute!!! 🥰

[Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I want a cat for our library.

[Dann]

Cute!

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me a little of Dewey...a cat really likes the pictures in books and tries to sneak into to the library...and becomes their read aloud to cat!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable! Especially loved the illustrations.

[Kaya W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute story about a library cat. Cat-lovin' kiddies will love it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a librarian, I watched with joy as our Paws to Read program blossomed and thrived with young readers gaining confidence as they read stories to very attentive and not-a-bit-judgmental dogs. I absolutely LOVE this twist on the read-to-animals trend.

Clarisse is a brilliant stray cat (my cats would correctly state that all cats are brilliant) that stops at nothing to get inside the building “where people walked in empty-handed and came back out with books!” Not only does Clarisse get inside but she is attentive to new readers as they read stories to her and wins over the librarian who bends the “no cats in the library” rule.

In addition to the story being heartwarming, the illustrations highlight a diverse group of readers and library patrons, representing a variety of ethnicities, (dis)abilities, and cultures. This gorgeous picture book gets ALL THE STARS and should be on every library’s shelves!

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story about a cat who loves books but doesn’t understand words. Studies show reading to animals can actually be really helpful to the child and the animal so I love that this books bring that together. The illustrations are also bright, vibrant and engaging.

Thank you Simon Kids for gifting me a copy to review.

[brianna ☁️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me tear up it was adorable 🥹 read it at the library and i wish so badly that we had a library cat

[lanislittlelibrary]

What a sweet story. Definitely my type of picture/children’s books. Cats and libraries, cats that love libraries / books and a girl that loves cats and books. Ugh my heart is so warm after reading this

[Emily McKee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of boring—honestly, it’s the simplified kind of story I could see a 5th grader writing for LA class. Some good interaction between text and illustrations (lots of diversity in the library patrons!). My four year old asked me to re-read it, but I’m not going out to buy this one because I didn’t enjoy it.

[CK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I watched and listened to the narration by Jamie Chung on the new Reading Rainbow!! Such a fantastic story about how reading aloud can help kids and also help animals. The artwork was pretty and it was so cool to see it come to life on the show.

[Kaitlin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cutest book EVER. 😭

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know the drill! Sees book with cat = reads book with cat.

And this one? So cute. Clarisse is a charming stray cat with a love for literature who finds her place in a library as a therapy reading animal. The illustrations are cozy and the text is easy to read. Perfect for librarian cat lovers -- LIKE ME!

[Anna Wooliver Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could have a library cat, my life would be complete.

[Suhasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 big orange stars!!!

There's something so soothing about orange which is the main color of this graphic novel. Pair that with a lovely cat and a heart warming story, you get "No Cats in the Library".

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so precious! I can’t wait to read it with my students.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A librarian changes her mind about cats. Clarice is a cat. Even though she doesn't understand the dark squiggly lines, Clarice loves books and their pictures. Can she figure out a way to get into the library and be with what she loves?

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to have a cat in the library to read to everyday 😻📚

[LiteraryJenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me cry 🥹

[Gina Zappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I loved this book! It is wonderful. Don't even get me started on the illustrations, they were perfect and I loved the color scheme. Also I just brought my cat into the library where I work and we took photos with this book haha

[Emily Haage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so sweet. Now I want to have read-aloud cats in the library!

Kids that are learning to read or struggling readers will appreciate that Clarisse just wants to make sense of the squiggly lines in books. Plus, the little girl reading aloud models that although the process of learning to read can be difficult, there is joy in it too.

[Elizabeth]

Not 100% realistic, but a cute story. I liked the illustrations and reading all the book titles, but I was somewhat distracted that some of the titles had misspelled words. (Not that the argument can't be made that the spellings are totally intentional and I shouldn't question the imaginary authors' artistic visions.)

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clarisse the cat loves books, mostly the ones with pictures. One day, she discovers a library, but cats aren't allowed inside! She'll need a really good idea if she wants to get past the keeper of the books and surround herself with stories she can love.

This is a beautifully-illustrated book with a stunning color palette. The story itself is adorable. Highly recommend.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a stray cat decides that it likes books and that the library is the place to be, it keeps trying to sneak in. But the librarian says No Cats in the Library. But the determined kitty finds a way in and gets a little girl to read her a book. When everyone gets excited about the "library cat," the librarian decides that she can stay and they have a special time for kids to come read stories to the library cat. Super cute!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!!! It is so sweet and the illustrations are awesome! I loved seeing the cat in the book drop. This easily just became one of my favorite picture books! I highly recommend this book if you love cats and books.

[Cassi]

Another nibling book. Very sweet, cats for every library

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

söpö <3

[XO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prrrr prrr prrr

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5