Cleo the Cat

Mockford's (What's This?) brief rhyming text describes a lonely cat that finds a friend and a home. A seemingly continuous black line provides a bold outline for Cleo the cat's warm orange and red tones. The feline wakes in a field painted in thick, textured brushstrokes and bursting with gingham flowers. The dense spreads, filled with geometric shapes and patterns, carry the basic story line (""Cleo finds a house/ Cleo looks inside/ Cleo hears a noise!/ Cleo tries to hide""). A Teddy bear leans against a bicycle; a soccer ball rests in a doorway. The closing pages find Cleo asleep on the lap of a child who has fed the cat and clearly taken a fancy to it. Youngsters, too, will likely have a soft spot for Cleo. Ages 1-6. (Oct.)