cover image Thumpy Feet

Thumpy Feet

Betsy Lewin. Holiday House, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-2901-1

Take that, “Surprised Kitty” and “Keyboard Cat.” Lewin’s Thumpy Feet may exist in an analog format, but he’s as endearingly, idiosyncratically feline as any YouTube star. “Here comes Thumpy Feet! Thumpy thumpy thumpy thump thumpy,” Lewin proclaims, in a voice that seems to channel both the cat and his besotted owner. Minimally propped and set against crisp white backgrounds, the action couldn’t be more catlike in its concision. Thumpy—a handsome marmalade with eager, comically intense green eyes—eats (“Smacky smacky”), gives himself a good wash (“lick, licky licky”), subdues and bats around a blue mouse cat toy (“Flippy FLIP”), takes 40 well-deserved winks (“Snoozy snoozy snoooozy”), and then follows a roll of yarn off the pages. Lewin also visited the cat world in 2010’s Where Is Tippy Toes? but this time, her considerable artistry is even more evident: each one of her gorgeous, goofy ink-wash portraits is a keeper. Best of all, she reminds readers how much fun cats are to watch—and how they couldn’t care less about whether we’re watching them. Ages 3–6. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Sept.)