This little kitty; This little kitty in the garden by Karen Obuhanych

This little kitty is a fairly typical cute cat, rhyming story with charming illustrations mimic a variety of textures. A brown-footed person wakes up as do a group of cats - a yellow-eyed black cat, grey cat with flattened ears, stripy orange cat, fluffy calico, and a black and white kitten. They go through the day eating, playing, and causing havoc. "Rested and ready to/cause a bit of trouble,/this little kitty/bats at the bubbles." The story ends with brown and white hands petting (and getting bitten) by the cats, then the lights go out and it's time for bed... but not for the black kitty, who is just two shining (and very awake) yellow eyes in the darkness. The illustrations are charming although the rhymes are a little shaky.

In the second book, This little kitty in the garden, the five cats return for a fun day outdoors. They chase bugs, sneeze at flowers, dig up the dirt, and splash in the water. The anonymous brown and white hands of the first book are revealed as two adults, dressed in pink and blue overalls, their faces still not shown. This book shows the improvement in Obuhanych's technique, with smoother rhymes "Leafy greens prefer some shade./The peppers like it hotter./Gently tuck the seedlings in/and sprinkle them with water." There's also more subtlety in the art, with each of the cats having a more defined image and personality.

However, from a factual point of view, the second book really didn't work for me. Cats shouldn't be let loose outdoors - they kill large numbers of wildlife. Even if one can argue for the occasional outdoor presence of cats, carefully watched, cats are... not really an asset to gardening. Digging up a garden bed that cats have been in is... not a fun experience. Many plants are poisonous to cats as well, like the pepper plants the cats are shown lounging among.

Verdict: The first book is a light-hearted celebration of cats while the second book is an improvement from a literary perspective, but not from a factual perspective. I'd like to say that most people would realize it's just for fun and cats are not really ideal gardening companions, but I've worked with the public for most of my life. However, if they're going to do something stupid, they'll probably do it regardless of whether or not it's pictured in a kids' book, so you might as well get this one and have fun reading it (with perhaps a reminder that cats are not ideal gardening companions.)

This little kitty
ISBN: 9780593435144; Published January 2023 by Alfred A. Knopf; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

This little kitty in the garden
ISBN: 9780593435175; Published January 2024 by Alfred A. Knopf; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library