Cat Knit

Sometimes friends change; this is a lesson that Cat and the reader explore in Jacob Grant’s work Cat Knit. Cat has a round friend named Yarn whose bouncy pink fuzziness has Cat enchanted. Cat loves to play with Yarn. One day, Girl takes Yarn away and poor Cat is all alone.  When Girl brings Yarn back, it is itchy, scratchy, and not as much fun. At first, Cat tries to lose this new Yarn. Will Cat finally come to accept Yarn?  

Grant’s limited color palette allows readers to focus on the humor of his illustrations; we can see Cat playing and fighting with Yarn against muted backgrounds. In comparison, the contrast created between Cat’s purple coat and yellow eyes heightens his expressions, allowing readers to really see Cat’s frustration with this new Yarn. The illustrations often fill the page and complement the text by adding greater dimension to the story. As an example, in an illustration spanning two pages, Girl helps Cat into a cute pink sweater, which is captioned by, “Cat’s friend had changed.”  Grant’s sentences are succinct and the modern typography complements the illustrations, while allowing the reader to focus on the action. This is a great choice for one-on-one storytime that will have animal lovers cooing over Cat’s antics.