Kittens

Sloppily written and edited, this brief guide to kitten care is anything but an essential reference. Problems include the author's tendency to state the obvious (``Don't drop a kitten suddenly or from any distance'') and a proclivity for stilted, sugary sentences (``To obtain a kitten can be a relatively easy matter, but what a world of delight and companionship the addition to your home of that wee bundle of fur can be''). Most of the book offers advice not needed by cat owners with common sense, although an introductory history of cats provides interesting facts. Captions court trouble ranging from grammatical errors (``A well fed kitten will have boundless energy and a zest for living. His activities will entertain its owner for hours'') to substantive flaws (the caption for a picture of a kitten perched on a mound of apples, bananas and grapes seems to recommend fruit as a mainstay of feline nutrition). The 70-odd full-color photographs are cloying, for the most part, and produced badly. (Oct.)