Cat's Egg

by Aparna Karthikeyan, Christine Kastl (Illustrator)

Overview

How long does it take to hatch a kitten? Cat isn’t sure, but she would rather be snacking or napping. Join her as she looks around for a babysitter for her mysterious golden egg. She seeks help from her baffled friend Dog, a crow, a koel, and a turtle, for as we all know, it takes a village to raise an egg. Aparna Karthikeyan’s delightfully humorous prose is complemented by Christine Kastl’s art that has an almost three-dimensional quality to it. Together, they take you on a feline adventure quite unlike any other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788193654224
Publisher:	Karadi Tales
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Pages:	36
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aparna Karthikeyan is an independent journalist. She writes and photographs for newspapers and magazines about vanishing livelihoods and everyday people. Christine Kastl grew up in Germany and is an award-winning children's book illustrator.

Editorial Reviews

02/20/4

When Cat—a slender, orange feline with emerald green eyes—finds a golden egg, she sits on it, hoping it will hatch a kitten. Cat’s friend, a spotted dog with a long snout, is skeptical: “He says politely, ‘that’s not how it works.’ ” Cat, in search of a babysitter for the egg, speaks with Cuckoo, who suggests that Cat put the egg in Crow’s nest (“All of us were raised by crows”), but Crow has no space. Next, Cat visits Turtle, who has laid her own eggs in the sand but is soon returning to the sea. In the end, though, no babysitter is needed: when the egg melts, Cat discovers that it’s a chocolate Easter egg. Kastl’s artwork offers a playfully skewed sense of scale, as though from the perspectives of the animals. Karthikeyan doesn’t elaborate on the ways different animals do come into the world but does note that chocolate is harmful to pets; readers will enjoy knowing better than Cat that kittens don’t come from eggs . Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Uniquely original and an altogether a fun read, "Cat's Egg" is an especially recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections."

From the Publisher

"The artwork has an exotic feel and draws the reader into the story with color and expression. A cute story with an important message for pet health...This is a good choice to share with children at Easter and to teach them that chocolate is dangerous for pets to eat."

Youth Services Book Review

The illustrations are well done. They emit wonderful emotions and are kid-friendly. They are created from the perspective of the animals involved in the story. This heartwarming tale with a surprise twist at the end will quickly become a family favourite. I highly recommend it. It is very creatively done and it made me laugh. We need more books like "Cat's Egg!"

Baby Bookworms

"Warm and sweetly told tale introducing multiple concepts of birth, nurturing, friendships and the Christian tradition of celebrating Easter...Wonderful [addition] to any book collection."

Jaya Bhattacharji Rose - Confessions of an Avid Bibliophile

"As soon as I read the blurb, I had to find out what happened next. Somehow the storyline itself was even funnier and more amusing than my already-high expectations. The plot twists only grew better over time, especially once Cat realized that her attempts to hatch a kitten weren’t going as well as she’d hoped they would. While it was written for preschoolers, there were several humorous moments that appealed to me as an adult reader, and it all started with the thought of a kitten growing in an egg...Cat’s Egg was a creative, heartwarming tale that I’d recommend to readers of all ages."

Long and Short Reviews

05/10/2019

PreS-Gr 1-Cat's expressive cover portrait, her lengthy body stretched on her green rug with her smirky face resting atop the yellow egg, is a fine introduction to this simple, silly tale. As she tells Dog, an egg appeared in her basket while she slept so she must have laid it. Dog, cheerfully alert and dominating the title page, almost steals the show here. With comic flair, Kastl sketches these main characters in light, basic lines. Other animals, though still simple and suggestive, are a bit more realistic. All interact on broad or close-up scenes beautifully rendered with pastels. Cat looks forward to the hatching of a kitten, while Dog is skeptical. She's not keen on tending the egg and sets off carrying it in her mouth to seek help from egg-laying neighbors. "A cat egg? That's a first," Crow says, peering at the egg. Cat's exchanges with Dog and Crow haven't worked too well. "Cat is annoyed. Cat is peckish." The day grows warm, and further pleas for help from Cuckoo and Sea Turtle on nearby sand aren't satisfying either. Cat's egg has grown soft and damp as she finally rushes back home with it. Dog finally breaks the sad news to her. "It's a chocolate that small humans eat…" Cat's conviction that this egg will hatch is goofy fun, the assorted conversations move at a smooth, amusing clip, and ultimately it's a tender friendship story. VERDICT A well-crafted read-aloud item. -Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

School Library Journal

2019-03-03

The cat has found an egg; now she must figure out how to hatch her kitten.

When the cat finds a yellow egg in her basket, she is convinced it's going to produce a kitten. Her friend the dog is quite skeptical. After sitting on the egg for a while, the cat needs a break, so she tries to find a babysitter for it. In turn she asks the dog, the crow, the cuckoo, and the turtle to help her. However, no one is able to help her, and now, after being carried around in her mouth, the egg is damp and smells odd. When she takes it back to her house, the dog discovers that the egg is not a real egg but a chocolate Easter egg. The cat considers eating it, but the dog tells her chocolate is not good for her and instead kindly shares his dinner with her. Kastl's illustrations are playful and soft, giving the pages an uncluttered feel. The spatial creativity on display allows readers to see the story from the animals' perspectives. While Karthikeyan's wry text develops its feline and canine characters well, the story misses an opportunity to explore the ways in which different animal babies are born or why some people use chocolate eggs on Easter.

A rather meandering story about a whimsical cat and her chocolate egg. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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