FLUBBY IS NOT A GOOD PET!

Meet Flubby, a quintessential cat.

Flubby, a rotund gray-and white cat with stubby legs, seems
unimpressed by his owner’s expectations of pet behavior. He won’t sing like Kim’s
bird, catch like Sam’s dog, or jump like Jill’s frog. Flubby doesn’t even run
when it rains. But when thunder pounds—“KA-BOOM”—cat and kid need each other.
Morris limits her palette to muted shades of brown, blue, gray, and green with
an occasional spot of orange. Short, declarative sentences follow a predictable
pattern and complement the spare illustrations. Cartoon panels opposite full-page
pictures move the simple story along. In one memorable double-page spread, the
action—of the child throwing a ball while Flubby watches and then rolls over to
sleep—moves readers’ eyes left to right across the spread in three stacked,
horizontal panels. A full range of emotions, including happiness, frustration,
boredom, concern, disappointment, fear, is conveyed with subtle changes in
posture and eyes. The human characters are a multiracial mix. Kim presents
Asian; Sam appears black; Jill seems white. Flubby’s owner is not gendered and
has longish brown hair and brown skin. Series companion Flubby Will NOT Play with That! publishes simultaneously.

Nonjudgmental encouragement for new readers—even
if they flub up. (Early reader. 5-8)