Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats

February 1, 2015
A caring young woman who takes in homeless cats finds her kindness rewarded when she suffers in turn. The plot is slight and straightforward, if delightfully far-fetched, and Potter's use of clever language further enhances its appeal. Whether given up by their previous owners because of perceived deficiencies ("He runs from mice!") or strays who find their ways to Miss Hazeltine's house on their own, each and every cat is welcomed and rehabilitated. Miss Hazeltine teaches them to pounce, climb, stretch and "think good thoughts." She even shares her own secret fears with Crumb, the smallest, most frightened cat of them all. Meanwhile Sif's quirky, pencil-drawn, digitally colored illustrations create a vaguely fairy-tale feel, especially in Miss Hazeltine's cozy home in the forest, which suits the traditional trope of the least likely hero overcoming obstacles to save his beloved. In contrast, touches of modernity and humor, like the heroine's red high-tops or her use of yoga postures (cat and cow, anyone?) to encourage the strays' skill-building, add visual interest and a charming freshness. Vignettes, single- and double-page spreads are perfectly paired with the text and offer plenty of details-and cats-to pore over. Listeners of all stripes, feline fanciers or not, will be pleased and amused as the mild adventure winds to a happily-ever-after ending. (Picture book. 5-8)

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May 1, 2015
Miss Hazeltine (friendly-looking, skinny-legged, and large-nosed, sporting hi-tops and a striped knit cap) opens her home to so-called hopeless and worthless scaredy-cats unwanted by other people. With patience and compassion, Miss Hazeltine teaches the cats lessons in such subjects as Climbing Up, Climbing Down, Meeting New Friends, and How Not to Fear the Broom. But Crumb, a particularly small and fearful cat, still isn't ready to come out of his shell -- until one night when, on an errand to replenish the milk supply, Miss Hazeltine trips, falls in a ditch, and injures her ankle. Crumb summons up his courage to lead the other cats in a search party. No longer Shy and Fearful, the now Shy and Pretty Brave If You Ask Us cats triumphantly bring Miss Hazeltine home, even helping her use the hated broom as a crutch. The illustrations (loose, scribbly pencil lines digitally colored in a muted palette) capture the text's gentle humor; spot art on pages with copious white space alternates effectively with full pages and double-page spreads. The cats' huge eyes and expressive body language ably communicate their emotions, from fear to courage to contentment. katie bircher

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2015
Compassionate Miss Hazeltine opens her home to so-called "hopeless" scaredy-cats unwanted by other people. When Miss Hazeltine trips and falls into a ditch while replenishing the milk supply, a particularly small and fearful cat named Crumb summons his courage to lead the others in a search party. Loose pencil lines (digitally colored in a muted palette) capture the text's gentle humor.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)