Mister Kitty Is Lost!

by Greg Pizzoli

Overview

A fun and interactive preschool adventure (with cutout surprises on almost every page!) that explores counting and colors, from the award-winning creator of The Watermelon Seed and Good Night Owl.

Mister Kitty is missing somewhere inside this book! Will you help us find him? Join the hunt for five yellow spots, four orange paws, three purple bells, and more, exploring numbers and colors along the way in an interactive countdown. Cutouts interacting with Greg Pizzoli’s vivid artwork reveal a surprise after each page turn, all leading up to the BIGGEST twist of all at the end!

Don’t miss these board books by Greg Pizzoli:
The Watermelon Seed
Good Night Owl
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316056540
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/17/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	370,891
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Greg Pizzoli is the creator of the Baloney & Friends series as well as a three-time Theodor Seuss Geisel Award recipient for The Watermelon Seed(Medal winner), The Book Hog (Honor book), and Good Night Owl (Honor book). He is also the author-illustrator of This Story Is for You, The 12 Days of Christmas, Templeton Gets His Wish, and Number One Sam. His nonfiction for children includes the New York Times Best Illustrated Book The Impossible True Story of Tricky Vic: The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower, and he has also illustrated picture books written by authors such as Mac Barnett, Kelly DiPucchio, Jennifer Adams, and Margaret Wise Brown. He lives in Philadelphia.

Editorial Reviews

11/07/2022

The eponymous feline is “hiding somewhere in this book,” relays a frantic child, portrayed with light skin and brown pigtails. “Will you turn the pages and help me look?” In dimensional construction paper cutouts decorated with marker and pen, the child enumerates a set of the missing cat’s characteristics on each verso page (“Mister Kitty has 5 yellow spots”) and holds up the appropriate number of fingers. The recto shows those colors within die-cut shapes (“Do you see five yellow spots?”) as the child’s trusty black and white dog barks out the number. But much to the consternation of the seeking duo, a page turn reveals a species that’s very different from Mister Kitty—in the case of the spots, it’s five slithery yellow snakes. The countdown and startling reveals continue until the child reaches “one pink nose,” at which point Pizzoli (the Jack books) has one more trick up his sleeve: the nose does indeed belong to the beloved Mister Kitty, who turns out to take a slightly different form than readers may have expected. The blend of gentle meta humor and interactivity has “preschooler” written all over it. Ages up to 3. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Simple and delightful. A preschool crowd pleaser."—Kirkus Reviews

"Simple but effective…funny and satisfying."—Horn Book

"Highly recommended as an excellent and humorous read-aloud."—School Library Journal

Praise for The Watermelon Seed:
A Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner

* "[A]n expert debut." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Children will love this hilarious book. The story has broad appeal, making it a great first purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A juicy premise...Pizzoli legitimizes childish anxieties but also slyly exaggerates each worry to highlight the humor." —The New York Times

Praise for Good Night Owl:
A Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor

"Entertaining bedtime drama that works equally well for new readers and for sharing aloud." —Horn Book

"A funny tale about stress and an ever-upping ante, with a comforting end." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

03/17/2023

PreS-K—Preschoolers are invited to find Mr. Kitty, who is lost. His little girl and her black-and-white dog offer descriptions that may help in the search. Mr. Kitty has five yellow spots. But when the little dog lifts the page he does not find Mr. Kitty, but five yellow snakes. With each number and color clue another fearsome creature appears. The poor pup becomes increasingly distressed—to the delight of readers. The surprise ending will land just right with young children. Colorful, interactive pages make this an ideal introduction to numbers and colors. VERDICT Highly recommended as an excellent and humorous read-aloud.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken

School Library Journal

2022-10-12
Readers help search for Mister Kitty.

A distressed youngster, with brown pigtails and light skin, is looking for Mister Kitty. “He is hiding somewhere inside this book,” the tot explains. “Will you turn the pages and help me look?” A black-and-white dog is also there to help search. “Mister Kitty has 5 yellow spots.” On the opposing page, the dog barks excitedly at five cutout circles. “Do you see five yellow spots?” But a dramatic page turn reveals those spots are not Mister Kitty; they are five yellow snakes! Oh no! Mister Kitty also has orange paws. The dog barks at four orange paw-print cutouts—surely Mister Kitty has been found now. But no, those belong to four orange monkeys! The silly countdown continues, with different colors and different shapes, until there is one triangular pink nose left. Does it, finally, belong to Mister Kitty? The dog is the comedic foil of the work, eagerly finding the shapes but growing more scared at each reveal. The final pink nose spread shows the dog despondent and almost too afraid to look. A quirky twist at the end is the biggest surprise of all. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Simple and delightful. A preschool crowd pleaser. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews