Happy Cats

by Emi Lenox (Illustrator), Anouk Han, Emi Lenox (Illustrations)

Cat lovers will purr for this paws-itively charming picture book—a celebration of felines and their many moods

Porch cat
Tree cat
Book cat
Barn cat

Sun cat
Mat cat
Wherever there is yarn cat

Emi Lenox’s charming and wonderfully expressive artwork is paired with a simple rhyming text that details all the different sorts of cats—because you can never have too many!

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

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 7, 2021

About the author

Emi Lenox is based out of Portland, Oregon, and is a comic creator widely known for EMITOWN, a web-based diary comic that was later published by Image as two printed volumes. She has done work for Mike Allred's MADMAN, Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth, GLORY, CBLDF's LIBERTY ANNUAL, and co-created PLUTONA with Jeff Lemire.

Reviews

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable book with gorgeous illustrations of cats being cats. There's a gentle humour and love that comes through for these furry creatures.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat lovers young and old will delight in a book full of feline opposites and varieties! Happy Cats is fit to rival against One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish... and, well, cats reign supreme every time, don't they?

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

Yep, it's just a book with various descriptive words describing cats. Always a winner for me. All the charming, understated humor (naughty cats in paint, scared cats in the bath, etc) was so delightful and induced lots of giggles from me. Such happy Cats!

[Reading with Cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whelp, that was one of the cutest things ever.

[MTY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read by Meghan

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

every single one of these illustrations are puuuuurfect cats

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

4yo rating of 5 stars.

Also, do yourself a favor and search Goodreads for "happy cats." You will find an erotica series that definitely needs to be explored.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and dynamic illustrations with very simple rhyming text. Certainly nothing new, but I did like the illustrations.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...

HAPPY CATS is a rhythmic story that celebrates cats of all types. The book shows illustrations of cats alongside a rhythmic text about the type of cats that they are. For instance, there is a bold cat, shy cat, nice cat, and mean cat among cats of so many other types. Each page includes illustrations of the cats alongside the word art with their description.

What I loved: This is a simple concept, but done in a fun way. The illustrations are imaginative with expressive cats that embody all the different emotions and actions. The text is written in a rhythmic way that carries throughout the book. As such, it is very pleasant to read and hear aloud. Toddlers and preschoolers are sure to enjoy the simplicity and all the fun cats. The font is large and easy to read, with limited text on each page, making this a cute read to share at the young reader's pace.

Final verdict: A simple but cute read about cats, this rhythmic picture book is sure to appeal to toddlers and preschoolers.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: white cat
black cat
blue cat
brown cat
high cat
low cat
always upside down cat
fluffed cat
bare cat
round cat
square cat
long cat
short cat
rarely-ever-there cat

Premise/plot: Plenty of cats can be found in Catherine Amri and Anouk Han's Happy Cats. This one is essentially an illustrated poem. The stars of the show are the cats themselves, perhaps.

My thoughts: I love cats. I do. I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cats. Crazy about cat books as well. Most of the time. This one was so delightful. Not just because it stars cats. Not just because the illustrations are satisfying--they are though. No, I love this one so much because the rhythm and rhyme delight. Rhyme can prove challenging, but, it is so much easier to "get right" than rhythm. Rhyming can be accomplished with practice and effort. Rhythm, however, I think is more of a gift. Some rhyming books just lack all sense of rhythm. Other books just make it look absolutely effortless. Rhythm looks so effortless in this one. It is FUN. The rhythm of the text makes you WANT to read it aloud (even if you're alone). I also think the rhythm will help make this one appeal as an again-again.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard not to think of Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper when reading this feline-themed picture book. Taken on its own merits, this book has plenty of appeal, but for me, it pales in comparison to the intensity of that other one. Still, it's hard to resist the adorable cats who move across this book's pages, basking in the sun, tangled up in yarn, getting dirty, tolerating a bath, bathing themselves, and enjoying dinner time. There isn't an unloved one of them among the bunch, and this picture book brings to mind the realization that one cat is never enough. Young readers are likely to enjoy the various word choices to identify each cat alongside the expressive and whimsical looks on those cats' faces in the illustrations, drawn in ink by hand and then digitally colored. Cat lovers will have fun trying to pick out the cats that behave most like their own.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still catching up on the children's book reviews - My grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed this one as it is in similar fashion as the original Dr. Seuss books like Hop on Pop and Green Eggs and Ham. They both caught on to the rhyme and rhythm of the book and the illustrations were helpful in that aspect as well. They have requested since borrowing it from the library so it is on the purchase list with my local bookstore.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Abrams Books.
Simple text captures the many moods/types of cats for young readers. Amari introduces adjectives in a fun and playful way as readers see the illustrations of cats on each page. Each one has a unique expression to offer clues to the wording. Great read together or read on their own for beginning readers

[Tori Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the illustrations. They are bold and simple. But my biggest gripe with the book is that it's not really rhyming if you just use the same word over... and over... and over again. The entire book is just "_(insert adjective here)_ cat." I'm not exaggerating. The only derailment to this is when "cat" is pluralized. I would have really loved to see some word variation and some real rhyming.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little details in the pictures such as the facial expressions on the cats, or the sunbeam playing through a window and on the cat's body made this one for me. Nice simple rhyming text paired with super illustrations.

[Kelly]

You know, I'm not sure how recognizable these cats would be to children. They've got that wide-eyed look to them like "wet cat" just doesn't really look cat-ish. Oh well, it was a nice book for cat lovers and has good opposites.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using a similar rhyme scheme as Dr. Seuss’ “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” this entertaining story features felines to teach basic concepts (e.g., colors, shapes, numbers) and simple vocabulary with the aid of dynamic illustrations. Purrrfectly suited for cat lovers of all ages.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playful and sweet, this pictures book names all kinds of cat. Illustrations accompany the names.

Not as in Siamese vs. Manx. More like:

* Round Cat (curled up)
* Square Cat (inside a box).

Altogether, this is a delightful read. FIVE STARS!

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This just makes me so incredibly happy. I'm on my fifth cat, and I recognize all the cats I've had in these pages.

[Roben · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a cat lover, so this book made ME happy! So many wonderful adjectives to describe cats. My grands would love this one.
Thank you to Abrams for a digital ARC.

[Tam I · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read an ARC. Very simple comparison of opposites with cats. Cute pictures.

[Michelle Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and adorable illustrations to accompany the written words.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Again!” It’s always 5 stars when she wants to read it again 🥰

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is simple and the illustrations charming. As a cat lover, I want to read it over and over.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing happy cats makes me happy. Good introduction to adjectives.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Chronicler of Creepy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heckin' cute and I love the art!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toddlers

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

LET THERE BE CATS!

[Yesha]

I could see reading this at a storytime. (Maybe after paperclipping a few pages to keep it a little short for the wandering attention spans of a group of toddlers)