Where’s My Cat?

Before the titular cat makes its eventual appearance in this drawing game turned picture book, readers are treated to an oddball menagerie fashioned from quotidian objects, thanks to Chwast’s (Arno and the MiniMachine) visual sleights of hand. Following an opening page that reads “What’s This?” in eclectic typography that vibrates with energy, the first spread queries “Saw and pickle?” as a line drawing of the two objects appears on the opposing page. A page turn later, readers see the reveal: the pickle has sprouted webbed feet and a lower jaw, and the saw has transitioned into a toothy mouth, making a “Crocodile!” Seven more offbeat objects-to-animals follow, with a few deft, comic lines adding personality: a gray sock gains tiny eager eyes, tusks, feet, and a snout, turning into a winningly portrayed walrus. But where is that cat? At long last, a pair of unassuming open scissors are revealed to be the eyes, nose, and mouth of a jet-black feline. The everyday world will look a little different after readers close this book—the reward of spending time in the company of an imaginative talent. Ages 2–5. (Mar.)