When a kitten who is afraid of everything discovers that he can face down a dog by swatting him on the nose, he transforms from Scaredy Cat into Tiger Cat. The cartoonlike illustrations, which feature a roly-poly kitten with short, stubby legs, show the world from a cat's-eye view. The use of varying type sizes, intended to reflect the size of Scaredy Cat's fear, will be appreciated by a young audience. From HORN BOOK 1996, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PreS-K-Scaredy Cat, a fat, fluffy kitten, is threatened, in turn, by a giant, 2 crocodiles, 10 wiggly thingamajigs, a sucking monster, and a hairy forest. She runs to Mama Meow, who soothes her with explanations: it's only Auntie B.'s shadow, the woman's reptile-leather shoes, her hands in pink rubber gloves, her vacuum cleaner, and her big dog. Scaredy Cat leaps to Auntie B.'s lap and hides in her knitting. From there she thinks she sees an eensie-weensie spider, actually the dog's whiskered nose, and bops it hard with her paw, driving him away in fright and surprise and gaining for herself the name of Tiger Cat. Double-page spreads of cartoon shapes in soft watercolors and seen from various angles are full of life and personality. The simple text is printed declaratively in all sizes of type from huge to tiny to express the story more effectively. A funny read-aloud for the timid and not so timid alike.-Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ages 4^-6. A little kitten who is scared of almost everything is continually reassured by his Mama Meow. One day, the kitten sees what he thinks is an eensie-weensie spider. And using all his newly acquired courage, he "bonks" the spider on its head. But the spider is actually the nose of a great, big furry dog, who is frightened by the little kitten's daring. The humorous tale of an "undercat" becoming brave and courageous is enhanced by whimsical cartoonlike illustrations that sweep across oversize, stark white backdrops. The soft, muted illustrations visually capture the vast size difference between the little kitten's world and the monstrous, gigantic, frightening things that surround him. As they listen to this delightful tale, young cat lovers will cheer on the little kitten in his attempt to be brave. --April Judge

Both visually and verbally, Rankin's (The Little Cat and the Greedy Old Woman) work calls to mind Gahan Wilson-she shares his genius for conveying and mollifying the free-floating nature of childhood anxiety. Combining delicately textured yet warmly hued watercolors with exaggerated typography that literally magnifies her subject's fears, Rankin masterfully captures the vulnerability of her protagonist, a puffball of a kitten who is frightened of just about everything. The kitten's mother, Mama Meow, tries to offer comfort by explaining that scary things are seldom what they seem: a "Screaming Sucking Monster" is just a vacuum cleaner, a "Giant" is just the shadow of the cats' kindly owner, Auntie B. But the kitten discovers his own sense of courage only when he delivers a decisive "bonk" to an "eensie-weensie" spider. That the "spider" is actually the nose of Auntie B.'s dog is a comic twist that children are certain to love. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

``I don't like GIANTS,'' reports a small quivering kitten, but Mama Meow reassures her child that this particular giant is their kindly owner, Auntie B. The narrator also dislikes crocodiles (``Auntie B.'s shoes'') and the dark forest that is really the four hairy legs of Auntie B.'s dog, Scratchpooch. When the kitten mistakes the dog's nose for an ``eensie-weensie'' spider and takes a swing at Scratchpooch, ``Kapow!'' and this scaredy cat is transformed into Tiger Cat: ``WOW!/are eensie-weensie spiders/scared of me!'' The upbeat message--that courage may be only a matter of perspective--lights up a cheerful comedy from Rankin (The Little Cat and the Greedy Old Woman, 1995), who shows Tiger, in the last scene, going nose-to-nose with a huge neighborhood dog. This lesson in assertiveness--hardly clouded by the notion that a good swat is the answer to fear--gives preschoolers a congenial view of the things that frighten the kitten in gleefully expressive illustrations; adults may gain a new sense of just how big and forbidding the world can appear to the very young. (Picture book. 3-6)