cover image Squishy McFluff: The Invisible Cat!

Squishy McFluff: The Invisible Cat!

Pip Jones, illus. by Ella Okstad. Faber & Faber (PGW, dist.), $8.95 trade paper (80p) ISBN 978-0-57130-250-5

In a punchy rhyming escapade, debut author Jones introduces an inventive girl named Ava and her invisible cat, Squishy McFluff. When household mishaps coincide with Squishy’s arrival, it’s time for him to go—until Ava’s clever Great Grandad Bill intervenes. Jones’s singsong verse is long-winded at times (“He’s ever so small,/ he just doesn’t know better./ He felt very bad/ for unraveling that sweater,/ And you must understand/ that kittens are frisky,/ He didn’t deliberately/ spill Daddy’s whisky”), though it gives the story the feel of an epic poem. Norwegian artist Okstad’s pink and teal graphics nicely highlight the mischievous goings-on. Available simultaneously: Supermarket Sweep! Ages 5–7. (Apr.)