Tumford’s Rude Noises

In this follow-up to Tumford the Terrible, Tillman’s misbehaving kitten has a new pastime: “Face in his bowl, he blew bubbles and slurped./ Eating his sweet roll, he giggled and burped.” And when visitors stop by, Tumford does something even worse (it’s rendered with random typographical marks emanating from Tumford’s rear end). Tillman asks readers to help reform Tumford (“Whisper these words in Tum’s ear if you would..../ ‘Tumford... not all attention is good’ ”), then assures them their advice has been taken (“Now, there was no need for Tum’s folks to scold him./ He’d learned his lesson... you’d already told him!”). Tillman’s digitally rendered illustrations are both endearingly fuzzy and madly stylish, with red spike heels for Tumford’s human mother and her friends, retro cat toys, and baby animals wearing wee bandannas just like Tumford’s. The kitten’s winning expressions—he looks like a talented child actor who just happens to be zipped into a cat suit—and the surefire device of impolite body noises make this sequel even more of a draw than the original. Ages 4–6. Agent: Cathy Hemming, Cathy Hemming Literary Agency. (Sept.)