Perma-Bound

PreS-Gr 1-Little Chirie is the prettiest kitten in the litter, and the favorite of Mr. and Mrs. Smith's only daughter, Evan. But Little Chirie is always in trouble. One day, when Mrs. Smith sends her to the corner, the frisky pet finds a secret stairway that leads to "Little Friends Kindercare," where she meets a baby panda, giraffe, and monkey, among others. The animals have never seen a kitten before, and as they play with her they mimic Little Chirie's bad behavior. When she finds her way back to her house, she remembers how naughty the animals were and tempers her own actions, much to the delight of her human family. This saccharine story makes little sense. Children will immediately recognize what the unconcerned Momma Cat already knows-Little Chirie is simply a kitten and acts like one. How can attacking shoelaces or knocking over a water bowl count for being naughty? Heaven forbid the Smiths should ever encounter Rotten Ralph. The fantasy sequence where Little Chirie meets the other animals is disjointed and heavy-handed. Graham's pictures, painted in light shades and bathed in a soft glow, are too pretty for the story. Considering the exclamation points liberally sprinkled throughout the text (every naughty act is capped with that ubiquitous punctuation mark), this title reads like a vanity project from a famous author.-Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. After Mrs. Smith banishes naughty Cherie to a corner, the kitten squeezes through a crack and discovers a place where some baby animals are even naughtier. The book seems willfully anachronistic, with its old-fashioned prose ("'Oh, Little Cherie! What have you done?' Mrs. Smith cried") and pushy lesson-learning, but the story is somewhat engaging and the painterly illustrations usually get it right.