Book Review: Cat the Cat Who is That? by Mo Willems

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Simple words will be good for beginning readers

Cons: Lacks story; repetitive

The Bottom Line: 

This was a let down

Lacks the creativity

Of Mo's other books

A Little Too Simple to be One of Mo Willems' Better Works

After hearing about Mo Willems for several years, I've started using my niece as an excuse to read some of his picture books.  After all, Uncle Mark has to sample them first to make sure they are good enough for her, right?  And I can easily see why he has gotten the praise and awards he has gotten.  He's got some fun books.  Sadly, I didn't feel that Cat the Cat, Who Is That? was up to his normal standards.

This 32 page picture book follows Cat the Cat around his neighborhood.  As we meet a new character, the unseen narrator asks, "Cat the Cat, who is that?"  Then Cat the Cat introduces us to Fish the Fish, Mouse the Mouse, or Duck the Duck and the two exchange greetings before moving on.  Finally, we hit someone Cat the Cat doesn't know.  This strange looking creature perplexes Cat the Cat for a moment until he figures out who this is - a new friend!

The last couple of pages were fun, and I liked them, but the rest of the book was repetitive.  I was ready for something different to happen by the time we got to the final character, and I can imagine parents becoming frustrated with this book if they had to read it too many times to their kids.

Repetition is a tricky thing.  Dr. Seuss could do it well, creating a long list of things that grows as the book progress while still entertaining us.  That wasn't the feeling I got here.  Instead, if bored me.

Now, I can see a plus side to this book.  If your kid is just beginning to read, the simple words and repetition might help them master this wonderful skill.  So for that reason, I can see a purpose for the book.

As with most of Mo Willems' books, the illustrations are very simple.  This characters have just the most basic of outlines and that's about it.  He uses word bubbles to let us know when a character is talking, so its easy to follow the action in the book.

I've bought several of Mo Willems' books for my niece, but Cat the Cat, Who Is That? is not one of them.  It's just too repetitive to be fun.  He has done much better books that all ages can love.