Back on Track

New reviews coming soon! I'll be importing my work from the past two years, but in the meantime,
I'm reclaiming my small place on the web.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Children's Picture Book Review

The Life of Riley the Cat
by Julie Akerson Chicos
ISBN-10: 1412058589
Review by Heather Froeschl

Meet Riley, a curious kitty who goes in search of discovering what it means to be a cat. Does he have a purpose like so many of those other creatures that he meets? Time will tell and in the meantime young readers will come to learn a thing or two themselves.

Riley first meets Simon the crow, who isn’t very kind when he tells Riley that cats don't sound very important. This sets the plot in motion, and Riley comes to understand how spiders, bees, and beavers are all very useful creatures. When she meets a wise bat, named Bart, she learns the most important thing of all – that you have to look deep inside yourself to see what it is that you can do to make the world a better place.

Children will learn this lesson along with Riley but will also come to see that everyone is important in some way and that being different isn't a bad thing. Back home, Riley is reminded of the most important job of all – being part of a loving family.

I highly recommend this book to every child, everywhere! The text is well written, friendly and captivating, the characters are interesting, Riley is extremely lovable, and the illustrations are sweet and inviting. The messages of the book are appropriate and important for all children to learn. I would like to give a copy of this book to every child I know, and one to every child I don't know! Parents will be reading this book to their little ones time and time again, as it should be.

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