Mim, Gym, and June

by Denis Roche

Mim is small for her age, and that’s just fine with her. She can fit in places where other cats can’t and her school principal always remembers her name. Best of all, she always gets to be first when her class lines up. But everything changes when she meets June in gym.
June makes life miserable for Mim, and that’s even before they wrestle. . . . Only the unlikeliest of events can make things right between these two very different cats.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2003

Reviews

[Edward Sojuwa]

This kids book about kitty cats is about Mim, a third grade schoolcat who is treated as super special because of her tiny size. This changes with the arrival of big bully cat June, who always wants first in line in everything from lunch in the cafeteria to gym class. June is strong, and mean spirited, and Mim is meek, and still runs pretty fast. By the end of the Book the two cats are two tired to even cat fight, and decide to be partners during gym instead. Sure enough, it forms a bond of friendship that lasts...for the final four pages of the Book, which I find kinda cheating as well as unrealistic, but it doesn't mean that loving the enemy can't be done, only that it's difficult, which makes it more rewarding anyway.
Three stars
Mim and June, hope to see ya again soon!!!

[Rose Rosetree]

What an uncommonly catchy title for a book. Already I like this.

As the story proceeds, June -- a bully -- speaks some scary words:

I'll get you

Isn't it sad that most picture book readers are already old enough to know what that means?

FIVE STARS for finding a way to instantly resolve a big-deal problem. I didn't believe that ending was earned, but a five-year-old might.

And I am a big fan of the illustrations as well as the text, both created by none other than Denis Roche.