The Amazing Crafty Cat (Crafty Cat Series #1)

by Charise Mericle Harper

Overview

Sometimes school can be scary and even embarrassing, but not today. Today is Birdie’s birthday, and everything will be perfect! Birdie's panda-riffic cupcakes are beautiful, and there’s one for everyone. She will be the star of the class. But then . . . disaster! A trip and fall on the way to school means no more cupcakes! Who can save the day? Who can make the class smile again? This is a job for Birdie’s alter ego . . . the Amazing Crafty Cat!

After a quick transformation, Birdie is ready. She’s not afraid of sticky paws or paper cuts. She’s not afraid of anything, even Anya, the class bully. It’s time to get crafting!

From Just Grace and Fashion Kitty author Charise Mericle Harper comes the first volume in a hilarious, charming, and sweet graphic novel trilogy for young readers about a little girl who can craft her way out of any situation. Each volume includes fun and simple instructions for do-it-yourself crafting activities. Get your paws ready for crafty time!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626724860
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Series:	Crafty Cat Series , #1
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	540,949
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Charise Mericle Harper has created many books for children, including Alien Encounter, the popular Fashion Kitty series, the Just Grace books, and Henry's Heart. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

04/24/2017
In an entry-level graphic novel, Harper (the Just Grace series) dives into the mind of Birdie, a quirky worrier who loves to imagine herself as a resourceful feline alter ego, “Crafty Cat.” Birdie wants a perfect birthday, but she drops her box of panda cupcakes on the way to school. The story zigzags in and out of reality, with Birdie envisioning how future events might unfold. Harper’s line art helps distinguish what’s happening inside Birdie’s mind versus what’s actually happening, yet the story is simultaneously tricky to track and absent much of a plot. For those who share Birdie’s enthusiasm for crafting, instructions for several projects are included. Ages 6–10. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"... a genuinely sweet book about a second-grader finding an imaginative way to face this confusing world." —LA Times

"A charming addition to early reader graphic novel collections and a solid option for young crafters and fans of the author." —School Library Journal

"This outside-the-box volume is a great example of the breadth of possibilities in sequential-art narrative." —Booklist

"The clear, simple layouts make this an accessible choice for the graphic-novel newbies, and plenty of clever details and playful visuals will appeal equally to more experienced readers." —BCCB

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
Gr 1–4—How does one navigate the terrain of school, with its tricky fraction worksheets and class bullies? For Birdie, the answer is through crafts. With the help of her imaginary alter ego, the Amazing Crafty Cat, Birdie is able to prepare for the perfect birthday. She has made enough panda cupcakes for everyone in class (even Anya, the class bully), she has a beautiful dress, and the weather is lovely. Everything is perfect—until disaster strikes. On the walk to school, Birdie trips and all the cupcakes fall to the ground, and after she calls home for help, her grandfather shows up with olives and cottage cheese instead of dessert. Luckily, Birdie "transforms" (no one else is aware of her pretend metamorphosis) into an anthropomorphic feline to save the day using crafts. Harper effectively captures the highs and lows of grade school. Reminiscent of a child's doodles, the digitally rendered illustrations are artful while engagingly playful; they move the narrative forward and add some visual humor to the already funny text. The book also includes six easy DIY projects that will appeal to would-be Crafty Cats. VERDICT A charming addition to early reader graphic novel collections and a solid option for young crafters and fans of the author.—John Trischitti, Midland County Public Libraries, TX

School Library Journal

2017-02-01
When disaster derails Birdie's birthday plans, the little girl's alter ego, Crafty Cat, saves the day.Birdie trips on the way to school, smashing her birthday cupcakes all over her dress. Now she's a mess and she has nothing to share with her classmates. What to do? Quickly changing into Crafty Cat, she turns the mess on her dress into a sugary map of North America before turning back into Birdie. But she still doesn't have anything to share. Birdie's grandfather shows up with un-cupcakelike replacements: black olives and cottage cheese. When all seems bleak, Birdie's alter ego comes up with the perfect idea: a birthday craft. While Birdie plans her craft, readers see class bully Anya eating way too many olives. It's hard to feel too much glee at her comeuppance, because Anya has not really done anything particularly despicable outside of Birdie's imagination in the first 97 pages and therefore is not fundamentally unlikable. Harper's art is reliably enjoyable to peruse—when Birdie is daydreaming, Harper uses green curved lines as the borders, while reality is depicted in stark black outlines. But this cannot save the story's pacing and credibility problems; there are too many pages between moments of action, and missing a birthday treat just doesn't seem calamitous, even for these evidently rather sheltered white children. Even craft-happy readers will wish for a believable plot, especially one where the good guys and bad guys are more dramatically constructed. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews