Inside Cat
by Brendan Wenzel; illus. by the author
Preschool    Chronicle    48 pp.    g
10/21    978-1-4521-7319-1    $17.99

Inside Cat wanders its labyrinthine, multi-floor home, filled with windows of varying shapes and sizes. In this eclectic dwelling, the feline “finds a view wherever it goes.” Only the cat, what it sees through the windows, and some brick walls are depicted in color, while everything else indoors is sketchily drawn in a monochromatic charcoal-blue hue. This emphasizes the colorful sights and sounds seen through the windows — squirrels (which the cat thinks are “fluffy rats”), a helicopter (“roaring flies”), construction workers, children playing, a parade with giant floats (“WILD BEASTS!”), and more. As the animal walks through every inch of the home, exploring the views it affords, Wenzel (They All Saw a Cat, rev. 11/16; A Stone Sat Still, rev. 9/19) manages to keep the compositions interesting — an impressive feat, given the parameters of the setting. The rhyming verse is immensely satisfying and, much like the cat, strides forward rhythmically, always with the refrain: “Inside Cat knows many windows / finds a view wherever it goes.” Just when viewers are reminded that the cat’s seen it all, “every view and every floor,” it steps out the front door for the first time: “Oh.” A busy, bustling world awaits. Viewers see the house itself is shaped like a cat, hinted at on the opening endpapers — and the closing endpapers delight with another feline surprise. Just ask Inside Cat: discoveries are always around the bend for those curious enough to expand their horizons.

From the November/December 2021 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.