Who Me?

Raise your hand if you've ever been accused of committing an act in which you had absolutely nothing to do with it...whatsoever.  It's bad enough when you may have been an observer and tried to stop the perpetrator, but even worse if you weren't even present when the deed was done.  Despite all your protests to the contrary, the blame has fallen squarely on your shoulders; you're the oldest, smartest, smallest or tallest.  The list of reasons is endless.

Imagine how frustrating it must be for one without the ability to communicate.  It's hard to know what to do when trouble follows like a shadow.  The cheerful protagonist, Lily, introduced to readers in Silly Doggy! (reviewed here) has returned in Adam Stower's latest title, Naughty Kitty! (Templar Publishing).


Lily wanted a doggy,
but her mum said dogs were too messy,
too smelly, and far too much trouble.
So she got Lily something else...

Even though this newest addition to Lily's daily routine will not perform tricks, he's as cute as a button.  How hard is it going to be to feed and pet until he purrs, this sweet little cat?  Within minutes Lily is rethinking her original assessment of her fresh feline friendship.

Utter destruction greets Lily after leaving the kitty alone in the kitchen. How could so much happen in such a short time and where did all the food go?  One minute alone in the living room, yields the same results.  There are rips and tears everywhere.

 As soon as Lily gets one mess picked up, it's replaced by another.  The muss is escalating by the minute.  The cat door is ripped off its hinges, poor King Kong (the goldfish) is terrified, Lily's sausages disappear off her fork as she is watching kitty, there's hairy hair on the beds and phew! what's that stuff on the rug?

On a trip outside to the garbage container Lily and the tiny trouble-maker are startled by the next door neighbor's dog, running into the yard barking.  Picking up the kitten, eyes closed Lily calls for help.  Why, it's a miracle!  Kitty has saved the day...or has he.


There is nothing funnier for readers than text which is contradictory to the illustrations.  Adam Stower has a knack for portraying Lily's thoughts through dialogue and narration in perfect sync with each page turn.  Her lack of understanding, downright bewilderment, at the cause of all these catastrophes is the type of humor appealing to the child in all of us.  Here's a sample of dialogue followed by a thought.

"How could you?
Eight fish fingers, all the sticky biscuits,
plums, pickles, Mum's pink party cake,
Dad's pork chop, the orange pop, two teaspoons
and a washing up sponge!"

And she's just fed him
a whole bowl of Kittibix!


Although the front jacket and cover offer readers a huge clue as to the true culprit (the small kitty sitting on a large paw print), the back jacket and cover tell the tale (a large orange and brown striped tail is curled from beneath the curtain).  The opening and closing endpapers done in shades of blue and gray, much like blueprints, give us more clues as to how the story will unfold and continue even after the conclusion.  Stower has used a letter, postcard, notice and newspaper on the front porch providing an enticing introduction followed at the end with a newspaper resting across a table set for tea proclaiming further hilarity.

Full color illustrations vary in their coverage, two pages or a single page with smaller insets among white space galore.  Dialogue is shown in speech bubbles of different sizes for emphasis. The expressions on the kitty, a true innocent, are priceless.  Subtle and not so subtle hints as to the identity of the real king of disaster are found on the edge of the hedge, along the window ledge, coming in through a doorway, looking over the table top, or in the news coverage on the television.  Hard to miss large paw prints are plentiful.  My favorite illustration is that for the words ...and the bad dog ran away.  Lily is holding the cat by its shoulders staring in amazement, oblivious to the tiger looming over the fence behind her.  The kitten knows though, looking above.


Whether you read this book once or one hundred times, the results will be the same...guaranteed; laughter and grins.  Naughty Kitty! written and illustrated by Adam Stower is the perfect partner for its predecessor, Silly Doggy!  The play on words gives readers an unexpected twist at the end; hinting at the possibility of a third book featuring Lily and her blissful ignorance.

As far as I know this title has not been released in the US yet.  I couldn't wait and received my copy from the UK.  Two different web sites linked in Adam Stower's name above provide information and additional illustrations.

Through The Eyes Of A Child

Information, the right information, can be a powerful thing, now more than ever.  Having worked with students, helping them to access, evaluate, use and present relevant information in an engaging and collaborative manner has proven this to be true again and again. Creating independent learners (and avid readers) has been fun for my students and me.

On the flip side of the coin, the final sentence of a poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College by Thomas Gray (1742),

 No more; ---where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise.,

has likewise proven to be true.  After twenty-one years working with middle and high school students, thirteen plus years at the elementary level has provided for countless memorable moments where innocence ruled the day.  It is because of a portrayal of ignorance and  innocence, I found myself laughing out loud in a bookstore last week reading Silly Doggy! written and illustrated by Adam Stower.


One morning, Lily saw something wonderful in her garden.

Peering out her bedroom window this wonderful something has all the attributes of her heart's desire; it's large, brown, furry, four-legged with a tail and a matching large nose.  That's why after she dons hat, coat, boots and a scarf, running up to this creature, she cries with all the exuberance of youth

Doggy!

As she eyes her new best friend she realizes that up close he is mighty big and kinda' cranky but perhaps, she reasons, he needs her as much as she wants him.

When she shows up with her pal at day's end, her Mom is fairly certain Doggy belongs with someone else.  Lily decides to make a poster enumerating all the qualities of her companion; his physical description, how he fails to eat the dinner set before him, how he likes going to the park as long as he doesn't have to walk, his lack of game-playing skills and obedience, how nice he looks after a bath, his favorite thing and Lily's favorite thing---him, of course.  With the poster posted, Lily hopes, truly hopes, no one will notice it.  But...

It's hard when your heart's desire is gone even though you know they're back at their forever home.  It's going to be a long night.  Wait!  What's that?  It's another morning and a new surprise awaits Lily in the garden; a BIG surprise.


Within the first two pages author Adam Stower has you hooked with his comedic narrative and character responses.  Impeccable pacing, use of the pregnant pause, creates an expectation of wondering how what is said and what actually happens will differ.  His descriptions of Lily's and Doggy's activities on a single day, when you consider Doggy is not really of the canine variety, are hilarious.


It's the artwork which increases the laughter factor to new heights.  This title received a position on the longlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 (not published in the United States until April 2012) and the companion title, Naughty Kitty, not yet published here, appears on the longlist for 2013.  Stower begins with front endpapers in shades of blue zooming in on a table set for tea with a portion of a newspaper headline showing.  The text in the paper provides plenty of "punny" clues.

A variety of soft colors used in the illustrations, which look like ink and watercolor, are displayed either across two pages, a single page opposite a white page with minimal text, or as small insets with continual alteration in perspective. While the text says one thing the illustrations paint a whole new contrasting view; Lily says Doggy is silly for not eating his dinner, behind her he is going through the refrigerator eating everything in sight, Doggy doesn't like to walk to the park but he and Lily are shown heads hanging out of a speeding city bus or the text says Doggy is not so hot at playing fetch, Lily is peeking into his open mouth saying, Where did your ball go?  Lily's petite cuteness against the bulk of Doggy, both having a series of expressive facial looks, are guaranteed to garner giggles.  The closing endpapers, again depict a table set for tea with another newspaper showing portions of two separate but pertinent articles.


Sometimes, even before you've finished a book, you know it will be one of those titles that are read repeatedly.  Adam Stower's Silly Doggy! is one of those books.  I have not stopped grinning during the writing of this post and readers won't be able to stop either.  Get ready for gales of laughter during a read aloud.