LATE TODAY! An Immersive Experience

 If you've been reading here you'll know that I've recently indulged in sharing some stunning picture books about birds, both fiction and nonfiction, as I did in my last post HERE. 

EE5RDMANS 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS, 2025

I'm overdue to expand my species focus, so CATS are on the agenda. I am allergic to cats, but not in picture books and today CATS take center stage. LATE TODAY, written by Jungyoon Huh and illustrated by Myungae Lee, with translation by Aerin Park is a cat story and so much more.

Not only is this book masterful at capturing a moment in time: a rainy morning in gridlocked traffic on a bridge, an empathetic awareness of a tiny creature in need. It presents a brief storyline (lasting less than an hour in plot) with tension that evokes the lived experiences of delayed commuters and a stray kitten who is  dodging cars, dripping wet, confused, and seemingly helpless. 

The title, LATE TODAY, offers an effective and engaging double-intended descriptor. The heavy traffic will certainly slow things down. The rain isn't helping. When that dripping kitten is seen dodging tires and skirting curbs, traffic slows even more. 

Concise text launches this story before the title page with what seems to be a news report about slowed traffic, followed by a mention, at 8:15 AM, that "We can't be late TODAY!".

The scenes described above open the first several pages of the story, after many in various vehicles who notice and appear to care about the kitten's well-being. 

And yet...

The heart of the book relates to choices. To the many on that bridge and their reasons for looking away, despite claiming to care. To the penetrating rain, with one double spread simply showing RAIN! Ultimately, a decision is made. Horns honk and traffic stalls. The closing bridge scene features the initial font and pattern of a report indicating that traffic is beginning to ease. The perspective of the bridge at opening and closing are similar and yet those minimal words and slight angle shifts allow readers to view the traffic as STALLED in the opening spread but ROLLING AGAIN in that closing spread. Absolutely brilliant! 

The limited text also reveals the priceless value of a topnotch translator, not merely turning words from one language to those of another, but choosing and arranging those selected words in ways that preserve and convey the full potential of this richly layered work. 

This book is a cat book, as promised, but it is so much more. Those opening and closing spreads frame satisfying storytelling with heart.More than that, those multiple center spreads invite readers to slow down, despite the tension of a kitten in trouble. It puts readers in the position of deciding what CARING means. Is it an emotion that confirms to ourselves what good people we are, or does actual caring REQUIRE action? It's not an easy question to answer. How exactly should folks on a bus manage to help that desperate cat? How could any driver even stop in such bumper-to-bumper traffic? The people ask themselves various questions, through visual expressions and other cues, leaving it to readers to decide for themselves what they might do.Then, a page turn, a decision made by one person, one that  stops traffic but sets a solution in motion. 

There is plenty to enjoy about this evocative, heartfelt, challenging story. LATE TODAY reminds us, too, of the pace at which we race through each day. How LATE is late, and how important is that? What differences can we make in our own and others' lives? That seems like a lot for a tiny wet kitten to carry into our minds, but with the help of authors, illustrators, and a translator, it's  a successful effort! 

CATS! Two Terrific Titles

 I grew up with cats as pets, until ... 

Yep, like so many others, I am now highly allergic to cats. But that doesn't mean that I love them any less. In fact, as dear as dogs are to my heart, cats are remarkably capable of telling their own tails  tales, and they do so with nuance or boldness or any other attitude between those.

Two recent releases reveal that irrepressible personality of cats in entirely different ways, but are equally inviting. 

ABRAMS BOOKS FOR KIDS, 2025

The first is I AM A CAT, written and illustrated by Galia Bernstein. This is one of several picture books with the same titles so make note of that  side-eye cat on the cover and the creator's name. I ahve not read the others, but if younger only reading one I AM A CAT picture book, I can assure you that this one will come across as a winner/.

Before I describe the premise, I'll also indicate that I am not alone in this appraisal. This seemingly simple tale received multiple starred reviews, and is available in picture book hard cover or paperback, as well as board book formats. In a tight publishing world, that is a strong indicator of its appeal. 

That apparently annoyed cover star is SIMON, who we meet on the opening spread. The minimal text suggest SIMON is talking to the reader, and is perhaps confused: 

"HELLO, my name is Simon. I am a cat, just like you."

The page turn reveals that readers are observing a conversation of sorts, not part of one. The author/illustrator has mastered a blend of fact and fiction in this  straightforward conversation between SIMON and a range of other "cats", from lions to jaguars and more. The huffiness and self-awareness flows in both directions throughout, revealing in each case a short debate about why SIMON cannot be a cat, due to NOT being something the wild variety happens to be. 

THat's where the factual content shines, clarifying in comparisons and in an eventual and satisfying conclusion just exactly what makes a cat a cat! The illustrations carry the conversation forward, species after species, portraying on stark white backgrounds the sense of differences, but also of personalities. Small but intentionally effect details add information about the cats and the habitats, qualities, or behaviors that distinguish them, while conveying grin-worthy situations. This is a strong recommendation for kids of any age who take an interest in CATS, of course, but also science and wildlife and humor, and debate, and Terrific entertainment!

KIDS CAN PRESS,  2025

WHAT IF I'M NOT A CAT? is written by Kari-Lynn Winters and illustrated by Kelly Collier.  The cover should introduce you to the absurdity of this question, since a naive donkey is the one asking it! 

I paired these two because  each of the titles has to do with establishing a sense of identity as well as belonging. The above cat, Simon, is confident and able to assert his place in the family of cats without qualms. In Donkey's case, that identity comes from the voice of authority, Farmer, who greets and bids goodnight to a barn-full of cats, which seemingly includes Donkey. 

The central clue about how Donkey could have been so apparently confused comes on the first page turn. There, readers find the statement that Donkey used to be a straggly stray. 

The spot illustrations on that page reinforce Donkey's life story- having no one to love in his life to becoming part of a loving community- of cats! Using the examples from those cats to become the very best cat he can: playing, licking his fur, and strutting around the barnyard. The following pages reveal all the ways Donkey imitates cats .(Feel free to laugh at that even without illustratrations!) Succeses and failures do not introduce doubts, but a simple remark from Farmer  raises the question- What if I am not a cat? The delightful cats and kittens who have been his loyal (if sometimes skeptical) companions try to help, soldiering various attributes that might explain Donkey's identity. 

The text and illustrations prevent a very poignant story from losing its humor. Even when things feel dire, Donkey rises to the occasion, blending his cat-skills with his own nature to provide a thoroughly satisfying resolution, with raucous laughs at the final wordless spread. Don't imagine that I've spoiled a good read with the details above. This is one that merits repeated read-agains, combined with close inspection of elements of illustration. Include in that the tiniest of details, despite these images being cartoonish in nature. In  fact, the success of conveying emotion and expression with the slightest variation in eyes, head tilt, and other elements can serve as mentor images for those attempting to work in this style. 

Afterthought: Take a look at one more cat book: I AM CAT, by Peter Bentley, illustrated by Chris Chatterton. A lively, funny, rhyming cat who knows what a cat really is and does!