How to Be a Cat
Nikki McClure
In this tender board book, a kitten practices the basics of feline behavior over the course of a day. A single word of text per spread teaches readers "how to be a cat"-how to stretch, clean, pounce, feast-while the striking paper cuts illustrate the kitten's attempts to imitate an adult cat's mastery of each skill. At times, the kitten triumphantly succeeds, and at other times the kitten struggles, in vignettes that range from whimsical to profound. A celebration of all things feline, How to Be a Cat also tells a universal story of mastering life skills, and of the loving relationship between parent and child.
Nikki McClure is a self-taught artist who has been making paper-cuts since 1996. She is the author and illustrator of Abrams' Collect Raindrops; BYR's To Market, To Market and Mama, Is It Summer Yet?; Appleseed's Apple; and the illustrator of All In a Day, by Cynthia Rylant. Kirkus said her "illustrations make such nebulous concepts as hope and renewal accessible to young readers," and Publishers Weekly said children will enjoy "the tenderness of McClure's images."