Housecat Trouble (Housecat Trouble #1)

When yellow house cat Buster is left alone for the night (“I know I’ve been a bummer lately,” admits the feline’s brown-skinned, blue-haired owner), the cat is content to snooze on the patio. But his rest is soon interrupted when a passing cat suggests that there’s a colony of spirits in the house—purple blob-like creatures, with multiple eyes and large mouths, that represent “danger... grave danger.” When the spirits reveal themselves over Buster’s kibble bowl, two street cats—orange Chauncey, who sports a red bandana, and grumpy gray Nova—quickly come to the rescue, offering their services to defeat the colony in exchange for food. As the colony overwhelms, the group must locate spirit-weakening shadeberries as well as the key to the spirit world—“an object that hurts your human’s heart”—while engaging with all-knowing crows and angry dogs. Using a soft palette and rendering facial expressions comically emotive, debut creator Dickerson mixes magical elements with gentle messages about perseverance and animal-human bonds. Ages 7–10. (Feb.)