In Nikki McClure’s 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. PreS-Gr 1-A delightful picture book in every way. Beginning with the paw-print endpapers, youngsters will know that they are in for an adventure. The simplicity and flow of page design are beautifully done as viewers follow a kitten and his mother as she teaches him basic feline behavior. The first spread shows Mama and her kitten as they stretch, and the direction and pull of their bodies helps children understand the concept perfectly. They then proceed to lick themselves clean, pounce, explore, and hunt. Of course, the kitten thinks hunting means playing with a butterfly. They stalk and chase and it is while they are racing around that the kitten becomes lost. Children will identify immediately with the cowering youngster waiting to be found-which happens on the very next page. Mama and her kitten eat their dinner and finally snuggle up together to dream. The cut-paper illustrations are in black and white with a few strategically placed touches of blue. At once satisfying and fun, this is a book that children will pick up again and again. Pair it with Lois Ehlert's Top Cat (Harcourt, 1998) and Kevin Henkes's Kitten's First Full Moon (Greenwillow, 2004) to reinforce the playfulness of kittens and how they learn to be cats.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. A brief author’s note reveals that this simple picture book, composed of words that describe the behavior of cats, is based on the real-life “blind and old cat” that came with the house McClure purchased in 2011: Bud. There are two cats here, an older black cat with white markings and a younger white kitten with black markings; the older teaches the younger everything it needs to know to be a successful cat, one skill per spread. On the “STRETCH” spread, we see the little cat in front of the larger one, both in yogalike poses, while “LISTEN” reveals tips of ears peeking above a window and a singing bird outside. Although this could have perhaps been pared back a bit (“CLEAN” and “LICK,” for instance, basically illustrate the same activity), the book is graphically beautiful. Rendered entirely in cut black paper, the black-and-white illustrations pop boldly on white backgrounds, while digitally added pale blue accents—the same color as the typeface—highlight a butterfly that appears throughout. Spare, with the feel of an art book, this gracefully illustrates the parent-child relationship. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Ann Kelley Nikki McClure is a self-taught cut-paper artist who illustrates gift products as well as many books for children. She is the author and illustrator of Collect Raindrops ; Mama, Is It Summer Yet? ; To Market, to Market ; and Apple , as well as other titles. She lives in Olympia, Washington. Used Book in Good Condition