Me and Mr. Fluffernutter

Droll mixed-media art belies a perky narrative in Olson’s story of a girl and her cat, best friends who don’t always see eye to eye. “We love spending time together doing all of our favorite things,” chirps narrator Mia, who has planned a morning filled with “tons of fun.” On the agenda are a tea party (Mr. Fluffernutter, her cat, sits grumpily at the table wearing rouge and a wide-brimmed straw hat), playing dress-up (he cheerlessly sports a tiara, sunglasses, and fur boa), and swimming (submerged up to his chin, the scowling feline is kept afloat by a pair of swimmies). After the cat’s patience wears out, and he stalks off to go stare at the goldfish bowl, Mia sniffs that they will each have more fun alone, which isn’t the case, naturally. With small tweaks to her characters’ facial expressions, Olson (the Ninja Bunny books) evokes a panoply of emotions to comical and poignant effect. Without getting didactic, she imparts a clear message about the benefits of compromising and respecting differences. Ages 3–7. Agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (Oct.)