  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2020 PreS-Gr 1—This sweet alphabet book is based on an old parlor game. There is a cat in the bookstore, and each page uses an adjective to describe him, from adorable and bossy to quick, regal, and sleepy. X is a challenge but won't take away from a young child's appreciation of the title. Santoso's digital illustrations most resemble pencil, and capture the bookstore cat's many personalities well. The best part of the book is its potential for teaching and learning; the less concrete descriptors open the way for vocabulary-building, and once the author has shown them how to play the game, most readers will want to come up with their own alphabets. VERDICT After the first read, this title can take on a life of its own. A nice addition to the canon of alphabet books, and recommended for larger collections.—Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter Sch., Providence - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 12/01/2020 Inspired by a Victorian parlor game in which players take turns describing a cat, using successive adjectives in alphabetical order, Busby puts this premise on the page, with each spread containing one adjectival line that literally highlights the descriptor’s starting letter. The focus here is on the titular bookstore cat, who readers will learn is by turns bossy, intelligent, jealous, loyal, naughty, regal, xenopus-chasing, and so on. There is no overarching narrative, but each page adds to the characterization of the round-faced orange tabby, who exhibits attitudes and behaviors any cat owner will recognize. Santoso injects humor through subtle anthropomorphic touches, like sarcastic eye rolls (when a customer buys a book about dogs) and deadpan expressions (when a group of children fawn over him). The tidy digital illustrations have an appealingly grainy texture, as if hand-colored with pencil or fine crayon, and the bright colors bring to life an incredibly homey bookstore, in addition to an irresistible feline friend. A real treat for the legion of readers with intersecting loves of books and cats. - Copyright 2020 Booklist. Loading...
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