Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: ABC cats, 123 cats by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Isabella Kung

 For readers who love fluffy, furry, purring kitties, these two new board books are just right for a cozy evening storytime.

Each uses simple sentences to walk readers through the alphabet and numbers from one to twelve. For the alphabet, each page features a different letter, entwined with a cat, and an alphabetical list of adjectives. Grouchy cat is a calico with twitching tail, flattened ears, and narrowed eyes, peering through a capital G. Rowdy cat is another calico, but much fluffier, with black ears and smoke gray tail. They stretch up through a bright orange R, mouth wide open in a loud yowl. Sadly, although there are several gray or black and white cats, there are no black cats pictured.

The counting book features a growing collection of cats, starting with a bored gray cat, who is joined by a small black and white kitten. More cats, purring, pouncing, creepy, and napping appear until they number twelve, the round dozen completed with a small white, green-eyed kitten. The final spread shows the cats playfully pouncing, sleeping, or playing with the numbers from one to twelve.

Kung's illustrations show a variety of sizes, shapes, and fur colors, although sadly no black cats are pictured. Most are fluffy and their fur tends to be in soft, smudged colors without clear stripes or spots.

Verdict: These simple but sweet board books are just right for the little kitty-lover in your life. Purchase them for your library collection to balance out the preponderance of dogs in children's literature or give as a gift to a friend or their toddler who can't get enough of cats and kittens.

123 Cats
ISBN: 9781536209952

ABC Cats
ISBN: 9781536209945

Published April 2021 by Candlewick; Review copies provided by publisher; Donated to the library