I’d Rather Be a Cat (Laura Bunting & Philip Bunting, Scholastic)

Laura and Philip Bunting’s charming I’d Rather Be a Cat is a fun, rhyming addition to the corpus of picture books about being comfortable in your own skin. With a grass-isn’t-always-greener narrative that acknowledges the challenges of both being a kid and being a cat, along with simple, bright, high-contrast illustrations, this is an infinitely shareable story. The four-line ballad quatrain structure creates a recognisable read-aloud rhythm that will support young readers with language development through anticipation and pattern recognition. The narrative begins by tallying the negatives of being a child (chores, daily showers, no ice cream for breakfast) and extolling the virtues of being a cat (napping, nine lives and belly rubs) before inverting the structure to end on why being a child has its advantages, including having loving adults around to help you. The book provides opportunities for acknowledging that nothing is perfect, but that it can help to count one’s blessings. My young co-reviewer would have preferred the main character to remain in cat form, finding cat life, on balance, more appealing. Still, this presented the opportunity to discuss the pros and cons, and the idea of making decisions based on personal preferences and goals rather than societal expectations.  

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Cuthbert is the publishing director at Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews