You Make Me Sneeze!

by Sharon G. Flake, Anna Raff (Illustrator)

Overview

Perfect for fans of Mo Willems and Jon Klassen, award-winning author Sharon G. Flake’s story about a very serious cat and a very silly duck will inspire giggles with every reading.

Best friends Duck and Cat have a problem—Cat makes Duck sneeze! “I think—achoo!—I’m allergic to you,” Duck declares. Hilarity ensues as Cat keeps trying to solve the problem—but Duck keeps sneezing! Is Duck really allergic to Cat or is something else going on?

Written completely in dialogue, this text is fun to read aloud and easy enough for newly independent readers to enjoy on their own. Humorous illustrations highlight the characters' personalities, emphasizing Duck's quirky humor and Cat's earnestness. This dynamic duo will charm readers as the sly friendship tale keeps them laughing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662620195
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Series:	Duck and Cat
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 9.31(h) x 0.35(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sharon G. Flake won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for her bestselling first novel, The Skin I'm In, and is a two-time Coretta Scott King Author Honor winner. Her books have sold a combined total of more than a million copies. You Are Not a Cat! was her first picture book.

Anna Raff is an award-winning illustrator of several books for children, including World Rat Day, If I Were a Kangaroo, and The Day the Universe Exploded My Head—a Kirkus Best Book of the Year and New York Public Library Best Book—as well as a series of science picture books with author David A. Adler. Her illustrations have also appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Before her career as an illustrator, Anna was a designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and several children's book publishers. Visit annaraff.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2023

The creators’ comic follow-up to You Are Not a Cat! finds pals Cat and Duck in a touchy quandary. When Duck can’t stop sneezing, and its beak and eyes itch (“If I had toes they’d be itching, too,” Flake writes), Duck reasons that it’s become allergic to Cat, which does not bode well for the pair’s camping trip. Determined to nix the symptoms, Duck insists that Cat cover its fur in a sleeping bag, wear a pot on its head, and sing to Duck to alleviate the bird’s suffering. Cat grudgingly acquiesces, even as Duck’s demands seem both ridiculous and ineffective. When flowers from Cat’s garden are pinpointed as the real cause of the trouble, Duck seems genuinely touched by the idea that the two can now “walk and talk and spend every day together—forever.” (Admirably patient Cat has one response: “Oh, my.”) Digitally assembled ink, pen, and pencil illustrations by Raff contrast the sylvan setting—depicted in soft textures, grassy tones, and simple shapes—with the characters’ escalating, and very sibling-like, interplay. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Told entirely in dialogue using color-coded speech bubbles, this is the tale of a dynamic duo whose friendship is full of silly bickering, consternation, and smiles....Readers who enjoyed You Are Not a Cat! (2016) will be pleased to see more from this pair. Comparable to a series about a famous elephant and pig...this is a close second." —Kirkus Reviews

"The creators’ comic follow-up to You Are Not a Cat! finds pals Cat and Duck in a touchy quandary...Digitally assembled ink, pen, and pencil illustrations by Raff contrast the sylvan setting—depicted in soft textures, grassy tones, and simple shapes—with the characters’ escalating, and very sibling-like, interplay." —Publishers Weekly

"Raff’s illustrations are soft but colorful, filled with movement and speech bubbles interspersed with Duck’s numerous achoos.... children (will) enjoy the colorful illustrations along with the actions and discussions the two friends share." —Booklist

From the Publisher

03/29/2024

K-Gr 3—Cat and Bird face a change in their friendship while on a camping trip. Bird begins to sneeze. Cat kindly starts to cook up some healing tickle-bark tea while Bird hypothesizes that the problem is being newly allergic to Cat. The sneezes are tremendous, body-shaking ones. Cat dons a sleeping bag, then a pot for a hat, covering as much fur as possible at Bird's request. Then Cat is banished to outside the tent. Bird's vision, because of the allergic reaction, is compromised. Bird's bossiness, coming from a desperate allergic reaction, borders on bullying. Cat, responding, sends Bird home, though they are in a wilderness. Then Bird is contrite, pledging lifelong friendship, and flowers in Cat's backpack are proven the source of the allergy. Honestly, kids with fur allergies will be perplexed for at least a beat—is it really just pollen they are allergic to? The dialogue reads like two adults bickering, but with occasional barbs. A massively confusing story in conversation, conveyed only through speech bubbles, this comic book-style picture book is bruising in so many ways. VERDICT A nothingburger with a side of mean. Children and caretakers dealing with miserable and even life-threatening allergies may not see anything funny here at all.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

2023-11-04
Duck and Cat are back, and this time they’re dealing with an adventure in allergies.

Poor Duck can’t stop sneezing on a camping trip. In fact, the closer Duck gets to Cat, the more the sneezes come! Duck’s beak itches, then twitches, and then a great big feather-flying “Achoo!” bursts forth. The only logical explanation is that Duck must be allergic to Cat. Cat has all kinds of solutions: “Sit. No, lie down. No, walk this way.” “I bet a bath would help.” Nothing works. Duck thinks Cat should be the one to compromise. Duck suggests that Cat put on a coat to help minimize the dander exposure. And maybe a hat (actually, a cooking pot), just in case. All bundled up, Cat is not pleased. But the sneezes do seem to be lessening. Told entirely in dialogue using color-coded speech bubbles, this is the tale of a dynamic duo whose friendship is full of silly bickering, consternation, and smiles. When the real allergy source is discovered (spoiler alert: it’s not Cat), Duck’s elation is clear: Now the two can spend even more time together! Poor Cat. Readers who enjoyed You Are Not a Cat! (2016) will be pleased to see more from this pair.

Comparable to a series about a famous elephant and pig (who also have a sneezing book), this is a close second. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews