Inside Cat by Brendan Wenzel

Abstract

Reviewed by: Inside Cat by Brendan Wenzel Natalie Berglind Wenzel, Brendan Inside Cat. Chronicle, 2021 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781452173191 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781797214740 11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* 4-7 yrs Inside Cat is an expert on what’s outside the windows of its home—it observes construction, nature, and other animals daily. The rhyming text soon reveals that Inside Cat has its own eccentric interpretation of phenomena viewed at a distance, though, when it assumes that helicopters are “roaring flies,” that bubbles are “floating eyes,” and that a construction worker poking a head out of a manhole lives underground. “Inside Cat might know it ALL!” the page boldly exclaims right before Inside Cat finally goes out the front door and sees the actual vivid city around it: “Oh.” Wenzel cleverly depicts the inside of the house as predominantly negative space with partially transparent outlines, while the views out of the windows in varied shapes are depicted in vivid color. Inside Cat itself is a scribbly ball of energy with a frequently open Muppet-like mouth to match its frenetic energy. As the picture book progresses, outside reality joins up with interior drawings to hybridize what Inside Cat sees with what it imagines: a girl’s seesaw partner is a dinosaur, for example, and that subterranean construction worker brings a wedge of cheese to some eager mice. The soothing cadence with its recurring refrain (“Inside cat knows many windows, finds a view wherever it goes”) makes this a pleasing bedtime pick for those who want to contemplate what their pets think of the outside world and enjoy sparking their own imaginations before sleep. [End Page 75] Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois