The cat wants kittens by P Crumble

Ill. Lucinda Gifford, Scholastic, 2018. ISBN 9781742769097
(Ages: 4+) Recommended. Themes: Cat and kittens. Play. Friendship. Melbourne based illustrator, Gifford gives a vexed smile to the cat, Kevin, in this funny picture book showing what happens when the cat, boss of the house, is supplanted by two new kittens. At the start of this humorous book we see Kevin doing some very naughty catlike things about the house: scratching the sofa, biting the dog's tail, pushing the flower vase off the shelf. It is decided that he is bored so two new kittens are introduced into the household. But they undermine everything he does. Readers will laugh out loud, seeing Kevin stopped from eating his dinner, or taking a sleep in his bed, or finding the kittens playing with his springy mousey.
Nose put put of joint, he goes to the one place where he feels safe, under the bed. He waits expecting someone to come looking for him, but night falls and people are all asleep before he decides that he had better take a look.
What he finds makes him think that perhaps he had better just accept what has happened, and readers will be relieved that the situation has been resolved so peacefully, but turning over to the last page will anticipate what will happen next.
The look on the cat's face on the front cover says it all.
And some children may make the link to new siblings taking up their space in a house that was only theirs.
Fran Knight