Shelf Awareness--Don't Trust the Cat

MG Review: Don't Trust the Cat

Don't Trust the Cat by Kristen Tracy, illus. by Celia Krampien (Chronicle, $16.99 hardcover, 336p., ages 10-14, 9781797215068)

Kristen Tracy, author of books for teens and tweens, and poetry for adults (Half-Hazard: Poems), dishes up plenty of frisky fun in Don't Trust the Cat, in which a "scaredy-cat" fifth-grader and her pet feline trade places. Mischief and drama ensue!

Eleven-year-old Poppy McBean and her "friendship clump," consisting of Heni, Rosario, and Kit, want to be dancing ponies in the school play. Poppy, who isn't very coordinated, is certain her "power dance move" will ensure the clump gets their desired roles. So, she brings her "double kick, cross stomp, swisher arms, shuffle jump" to practice. When she accidentally trips over the school "puke bucket" mid-move, her "best and only friends in the whole world" leave her in a heap. Poppy agonizes about the betrayal and, at home with her cat, Mitten Man, blurts out that she wishes she had Mitten Man's "easy life." In a "tornado of fur," Poppy and Mitten Man switch places!

Somehow, Mitten Man--now Big Poppy--convinces the real Poppy to let Big Poppy use her feline grace and flexibility at play tryouts before they switch back. But Big Poppy can't manage to be a "normal" fifth-grader. She screams at the sound of the morning bell, sniffs random backpacks and puffy stickers, and ditches the clump to try out for the part of Runaway Clown. Worse, Big Poppy refuses to accept Heni's apology for leaving the real Poppy on the floor.

Meanwhile, Aunt Blanche comes to visit. Since Aunt Blanche believes cats belong outdoors, she ejects Poppy from the house, right into the waiting claws of Death Tiger, a stray about whom Big Poppy warned Poppy. Yet Death Tiger, "a dusk dweller and total beast," seems to think he and Poppy are friends. Before Poppy can even think of switching back to her real body, the two cats are off on a rescue mission, evading weasels and bullies as they search for "genius" turtle Raul. While roaming the "wilds" as a cat, Poppy learns to have confidence in herself; likewise, navigating the "emotional needs of eleven-year-olds" teaches Big Poppy/Mitten Man the value of life as a beloved indoor house cat.

Humor and plenty of misadventure make this an enjoyable read, with the Poppy-Mitten Man transformation allowing for plenty of fish-out-of-water hijinks. Spot illustrations in the chapter headings and upper-right page corners by Celia Krampien (My Family Four Floors Up) help readers identify which character is narrating each chapter. Humans and cats alike demonstrate, through comedy and angst, that worthwhile relationships aren't necessarily easy. By novel's end, Poppy, Big Poppy, and even Aunt Blanche have learned some very valuable lessons. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Shelf Talker: The amusing antics of Don't Trust the Cat offer plenty of humorous misadventure as a "scaredy-cat" fifth-grader and her pet feline trade places.