Cats in Construction Hats

by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Leeza Hernandez (illustrator)

Colorful cats in construction hats are on the job to build a house in this adorable, bouncy, rhyming picture book! Kids will delight in learning about colors while giggling at the hilarious antics of these forklift driving kitties.

Yellow cat. Green hat.
Dig this. Clear that.

Green cat. Orange hat.
Mix this. Pour that.

Six colorful cats work together to build a house...with just a little help (and mischief) from some tiny rat friends. Little readers will delight in following along with the simple rhyming text, big construction vehicles, and the failures and triumphs that come with a big project! Bulldozers, cement trucks, excavators, and even a giant crane feature in this story, but each read through also offers smaller details to discover!

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Construction, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Humor

40 pages, Library Binding

Published April 8, 2025

Reviews

[Nadina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Was it a literary masterpiece? No, but....while it start off giving the impression each page will just be a repetitive rhyme with different colors and actions, there is a little bit of a twist and a break to the repeated verses, while still keeping the original rhythm of the book.
The illustrations while fairly simple on first glance, still provide enough detail to provide entertainment from just the illustrations. I also love the use of color for the illustrations.
So a good easy to read book. And what I really love, and honestly part of why I give it 5 stars, it has great potential for beginning readers. The repetition of sight words makes this a nice new, modern book in the format of the classic Dick and Jane books.

[Curren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute! Great rhymes, colors, and cute pictures! A new favorite and a fantastic book to read with littles.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Yellow cat. Greet hat. Dig this. Clear that. Green cat. Orange hat. Mix this. Pour that. Orange cat. Blue hat. Load this. Move that. Blue cat. Red hat. Lift this. Lower that. Red cat. Purple hat. Place this. Weld that.

Premise/plot: There are MANY cats--hat-wearing-cats--starring in this construction-themed picture book for young readers. But will the construction project go as planned? Or will things go terribly wrong? Can these cats work together as a team to fix the problem?

My thoughts: I liked this one. There were things I noticed the second time through reading it that I had missed the first time. I'm not sure exactly why there are rats on the scene and how they come into the story. I'm trying not to overthink this one. But you might try looking for rats on each spread to see if there are secondary stories going on that aren't part of the text narrative.

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

This book is not only about cats and construction but about working together with others that you normally might not team up with. I also love that it has very simple two-word sentences throughout so that emerging readers can start recognizing words and maybe even sounding them out. Even with the shortened sentences, there is a clear, cute plot throughout, heightened further from the adorable illustrations. A great first book for those who love cats and construction.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the liveliest, loveliesdst early picture books I've seen innocent years.
The world count is minimal, but each word is perfection- totally tight and filled with delight. Each cat and construction hat is a particular color with enough repletion to develop read-along patterns quickly. The topic, portrayed through illustrations, make is clear thatmconsturciotyn is underway, with many of the machines, scenes, and details revealed.
The final pages are a sort of mystery, with readers able to figure out what it is,m exactly, that is being built and what goes where, and why!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to resist the very idea of felines who are wearing different colors of construction hats are busy working at a construction site. They are so very busy, and readers will be so delighted when they find out what they're up to. Gosh! I wish that my cats could do what these do. They're so cute and clever as shown in the illustrations, created with pencil, paint, and ink elements that have been collaged. Fans of Good Night, Construction Site and the other books set on a construction site or featuring building will enjoy this one.

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

Cats in Construction Hats follows a nice rhythm and pace throughout the story with each color hat assigned a job until the rats attack. When the cats come together, regardless of hat color, they are able to work as a team to complete their project. I really loved the illustrations, and the creativity behind this story. The themes are strong and with only a few words on each page, great for beginning readers or as a fun bedtime story.

Thank you Random House Kids for the gifted copy.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun book uses minimal text to show cats in different color hats using heavy duty construction vehicles throughout the day. There are talking bubbles and sound words scattered throughout the text. When the rats show up, the cats have to take action. They find the value of working together with the rats. Leeza Hernandez's colorful bold illustrations invite close inspection. This is a really fun book for young readers.

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cats & hats equals a pretty universal crowd-pleasing concept. Cats in hats with major construction vehicles is even more fun. Six colorful cats, along with their rat friends, work together to build a kitty haven, even with some mishaps along the way.

The simple rhymes, bright colors, and fun story is the perfect mix for entertaining young readers. I loved this story and could see little kids loving reading along and pointing out the things they know like the colors and sounds.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's an underlying message about working together, but forget about it. Just enjoy watching the cats building, the rats causing havoc, and then pitching in to build a cat super palace with extra room for the rats. The short, clipped narration reads easily and the funny art, full of yellow vested cats in those brightly colored construction hats, work as well together as the animals do. A winner.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book has it all: cats, rats, rhyming text, lots of construction equipment, and illustrations reminiscent of Richard Scarry. Great incorporation of color into the storyline however the book feels too long and the payoff/ending a bit meh. All the same, there are lots of details in the illustrations to explore and talk about with your little one.

Themes: construction, cats & rats, colors, humor, stories that rhyme
Ages: toddler-1st grade
Pub year: 2025

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you do story times with preschool students, you need this book in your life! The words are a great size in speech bubbles. The animals in the book are colorful with bold primary colors. The sound words are great and will be so much fun to read with students repeating them. I am enamored and reminded of Go Dog Go by Eastman a favorite book from my youth. I feel like this is more of a storyline with a problem that gets solved by the end of the book. Too much cuteness for words!!!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when a title perfectly embodies a book … this book was about cats in construction hats and that is what it was! Cats of all different colors and hat colors working together and working with a well known adversary to accomplish a goal. Beautiful illustrations and so short and sweet! Overall, 4/5 stars ⭐️

[Lupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this during a professional development. I chose it based on the colorful cover. I'm glad I did because my students really enjoyed it! We discussed blueprints, cooperation, problem-solving, and they were also exposed to new vocabulary. The rhyming pairs and the easy text made this book a hit for our younger readers.

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, how far wrong can you go with cats and construction vehicles? Plenty of colors to name, if it's for littles, and construction vehicles to discuss. Some of the trucks are not your standard picture-book trucks, so be sure to prepare for that.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little kids will like the rhyming and the colorful pages. It's a pretty good representation of what a construction site looks like. It also showed that damage happens and you just have to pick yourself up and keep going.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this for a toddler storytime. Cats + construction hats, what is not to love??

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids will love the illustrations of the cats. The story doesn’t say much though.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different color cats wearing different color construction hats are building something. Rhyming text and short, short words make this a quick ST read for cats or construction.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has such good rhythm, and I liked finding the rats in the early illustrations.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cats work on a construction project.

This picture book teaches basic colors.

The illustrations were done in pencil, paint, and ink, digitally collaged in Photoshop.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful cats wearing colorful hard hats at a construction site building. But when disaster strikes, teamwork answers the call.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toddler and preschool
Colors

[Morgan the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a rhythm somewhat reminiscent of Seuss. I liked it and thought the illustrations were cute. I'd throw this in a construction-themed storytime!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of colors, trucks, and interfering rats! Lots of popular topics to enjoy here. A bit of a mental exercise with all the different colored cats in their different colored hats.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theme: cats, colors

So cute and nice big illustrations with lots of white space.

[Katryna Ells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read about your colors with these cute cats and rats through a construction site. Easy read with a few words per page that are repetitive for early readers.

[Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

@ DisneyJr make this a spinoff for Pupstruction

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cats and rats work together to build a cat/rat condo.

Minimal text and complex illustrations makes this story not optimal for storytime. Best suited for one-on-one sharing.

[Y.Poston]

cute color-based action word driven romp