Elspeth Lorraine

For my first Book Review back I’m pleased to bring you, “All Cats Welcome” by Susin Nielsen and illustrated by Vivian Mineker. Leonard the cat is lonely when his human leaves the apartment. Mariposa the cat is new to town and lonely too. Leonard may say “Hello” and Mariposa may say “Hola”, but they don’t have to know the same language to be friends. These two go on touristy NYC adventures while their humans are gone, until one day, Leonard is trapped in Mariposa’s apartment! Her human makes “Found” posters and his human makes “Lost” posters and the humans become friends despite the language barrier between them. 

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Bits and Pieces: Ya’ll. Leonard and Mariposa were so cute and loving to each other and their friendship was the sweetest. Their little adventures made me want to travel back to NYC and take in the ballet and opera and penguin exhibit at the zoo. These cats were super classy and cultured. The color palette was soothing even though the colors were nice and bright. The illustrations were rendered digitally. 

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Favorite Part: Leonard starts his day each morning by saying “Welcome to a new day! You’re the best! I love you!” to his human. I was majorly charmed. My cat Lewis sits on my lap every morning while I have coffee and adores me, so I liked finally confirming what Lewis has probably been saying all along. 

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‍Not Sure About: TOO sad when Leonard’s human is crying at home because Leonard is gone. Also there’s this illustration of Leonard being sad too and I can’t handle that kind of drama.