The Secret Ingredient by Paul Castle

★★★

A cute follow-up to The Pengrooms, with a lot more going on than just the custom-made cakes. 

This time, Pringle and Finn are baking birthday cakes. When they deliver the cakes to birthday parties, they find they need to rely on a particular personal quality - a "secret ingredient" - in order to properly celebrate with the birthday family. For example, they must have courage to play an intimidating crocodile game with the crocodile family.

Once again, the author-illustrator challenges gender norms, this time drawing a "Birthday Boy" in a pink tutu. Another cake is delivered to the "Birthday Gull", with no gender specified. Illustrations are lovely, with many fun details to notice. 

While again featuring same-gender couples, this book goes even further and normalizes same-gender parents. The birthday sloth has 2 dads, and the birthday gull has 2 moms.

There is a happy development at the end when Pringle and Finn celebrate "a different kind of birthday" upon the arrival of their own newborn baby.

Again I wondered if there is any basis to the same-sex animal pairings that were depicted. A brief online search said female-female seagull pairings do exist, and close bonds between same-sex sloths may be possible in captivity. 

The Pengrooms by Paul Castle

★★★★★

I love the inclusivity of an LGBTQIA+ children's book, especially one that doesn't feel heavy-handed. This book is just a cute story about a pair of penguins - presumably both male based on the title - who make and deliver custom wedding cakes to other animal couples, culminating in the penguins' own wedding.

Some of the couples just happen to be same-gender: the flamingos are both grooms, the giraffes are both brides, and the genders of the mice are not specified. (I think the blue-haired mouse looks female and the pink-haired mouse looks male, which makes for a fun flipping of the "pink for girls, blue for boys" societal norm.)

The illustrations are ADORABLE. Absolutely adorable. If my kids were still little, I think I would really enjoy reading this to them and poring over the pictures, picking out my favorite details.

Just to note, I already knew about male-male penguin couples, and a bit of online research turned up references to male-male flamingo pairings and female-female giraffe pairings (though rare), so I appreciate that the animal couples are scientifically feasible.

The Familiars Roundup

A fun and entertaining series set in a magical world full of interesting places and imaginative creatures. Kind of like Harry Potter meets Warriors, except the world in which this series takes place is entirely made up.

This series is well-written and tells a good story. But like both Harry Potter and Warriors, the intended audience of the series may not be best judged by the first book, as subsequent books introduce more potentially disturbing ideas like death, murder, and betrayal.

• The Familiars (#1) ★★★★
• Secrets of the Crown (#2) ★★★★★
• Circle of Heroes (#3) ★★★★
• Palace of Dreams (#4) ★★★★

Palace of Dreams (The Familiars #4) by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

★★★★½

I gave this book just shy of 5 stars because of a few things that didn't sit right with me for a book that is supposed to be geared towards readers in upper elementary grades. Early on, there was a grim depiction of suicide, though the word "suicide" was not used. Also, it appears this volume has a different illustrator than the other volumes, and though I wasn't crazy about the illustrations in the first three books, I'm not crazy about these, either. I think they are better in quality, but more often than not, the pictures are scary. I don't know how it's decided which scenes get illustrated, but I would have preferred a few less frightening scenes!

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book. Once again, the Prophesized Three are on a quest, and this time, there is more urgency than ever. I liked that in this installment, there seemed to be more cases in which Aldwyn, Gilbert, and Skylar had to use their wits to solve problems, rather than just relying on their magic.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, so clearly a fifth book should be in the works. Can't wait!

Circle of Heroes (The Familiars #3) by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

★★★★

I am really enjoying this series! I love how all the different magical animal species have unique talents, and how they live in areas specifically suited for them. This installment had a number of twists and unexpected revelations, making it an even more compelling read than the previous two books.

I think I would have given this book 5 stars if not for the explicitly gruesome descriptions of zombie animals! The target audience is grades 3-7, so I guess the content is mostly appropriate for that age range... Isabelle seemed less bothered by the Dead Army than I was, so maybe it's my own prudish sensibilities that make me a little wary of the violence and gore in this book. Also, I didn't understand the point of the short-lived re-introduction of Grimslade.

Secrets of the Crown (The Familiars #2) by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

★★★★★

Okay, I'm not crazy about the illustrations in this series - they just don't seem to do the story justice, in my opinion. But what a story this one is! Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert set off on another quest that takes them to unfamiliar lands and through all kinds of adventures.

Both Skylar's and Aldwyn's family histories are fleshed out, and there were quite a few unexpected twists and turns. A really entertaining read that ends with a cliffhanger!

One note about the recommended audience. Even though we're dealing with anthropomorphized animals, I think the upper elementary grades would be best, as there are references to death, murder, betrayal, and of course, the Dead Army that the evil Paksahara intends to raise.

Humphrey Roundup

Sebastien has absolutely LOVED having this series read to him!

It's a cute series about a loyal hamster who takes friendship very seriously. Lessons abound in each book.

There is a diverse cast of characters spanning a wide range of ethnic groups, socio-economic classes, and even physical health.

Happily - since I was reading the series to a first grader - there is really nothing objectionable in the series; it's a "safe" series that makes clear what is considered appropriate behavior. Except maybe the second book... It's a good installment because it's the one where we meet Og the frog, but some of the content might be just a wee bit more appropriate for older elementary grades.

• The World According to Humphrey (#1) ★★★★½
• Friendship According to Humphrey (#2) ★★★½
• Trouble According to Humphrey (#3) ★★★½
• Surprises According to Humphrey (#4) ★★★½
• Adventure According to Humphrey (#5) ★★★½
• Summer According to Humphrey (#6) ★★★★★
• School Days According to Humphrey (#7) ★★★★½
• Mysteries According to Humphrey (#8) ★★★★★
• Winter According to Humphrey (#9) ★★★★
• Secrets According to Humphrey (#10) ★★★★★
• Imagination According to Humphrey (#11) ★★★

Imagination According to Humphrey (Humphrey #11) by Betty G. Birney

★★★

Sebastien had been looking forward to reading this book ever since we saw a "Coming Soon!" advertisement at the end of one of the other Humphrey books. We were super excited to finally read it!

In many ways, this book delivers just what you would expect from a Humphrey book. Humphrey pays attention in class, he sometimes leaves his cage during the week when the school is empty, and he goes home with his classroom friends on the weekends and finds ways to help them. But, in my opinion, the overarching storyline is lacking. Mrs. Brisbane is teaching the kids about writing and storytelling, and they each have to write a piece of fiction imagining what they would do if they could fly. Writing came easily for some kids while other kids struggled. I'm sorry to say, it just wasn't very exciting or interesting to me.

Sebastien enjoyed the book as expected, but even he gave it 4 stars - instead of his usual 5 stars for Humphrey books - because the book defined a word inaccurately! On page 45, at the start of chapter 5, Mrs. Brisbane introduces the class to homonyms. According to the book, examples of homonyms are "groan" and "grown", and "ate" and "eight". To be honest, I am pretty sure that's what I remember learning in elementary school myself, about 30 years ago. However, Sebastien's first grade class has been talking about homophones all year, and his teacher made it very clear that "homophones" are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings - like "groan" and "grown" - while "homonyms" are words that sound the same and are spelled the same, but have different meanings - like "weigh on a scale" and "scale the wall". One quick Google search confirms that, in the strictest sense, Sebastien's teacher is correct, but also that some people and some dictionaries do allow for broader definitions of "homonym", which frequently leads to confusion.

The Familiars (The Familiars #1) by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

★★★★

Even before I read the blurb on the back that echoed my own sentiments, I thought, "This book is like Harry Potter meets Warriors!" It's got the magic of Harry Potter - complete with a Hermione / Ron / Harry trio consisting of book-smart Skylar (a female bird), comic relief Gilbert (a male frog), and "muggle"-raised Aldwyn (a male cat) who has yet to discover his untapped potential - and, of course, the anthropomorphized animals reminiscent of Warriors, mostly because Aldwyn the cat is the main character. But also, their journey to fulfill a quest reminded me of Firestar's Quest, a Warriors Super Edition.

So, a "familiar" is a wizard's magical animal companion with whom the wizard has a special bond. They struck me as kind of like a cross between the pet animals of Harry Potter - like Hedwig, Scabbers, and Crookshanks - and the daemons of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

I enjoyed the book, but I didn't completely love it. I wonder if maybe it just seemed like the book was too derivative, and there wasn't much that was especially new to experience? I'm not sure, but I did like it enough to continue the series!

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

★★★★★

As a kid, I loved the animated movie, but I had never read the book. Thanks to my cousin Shan, who sent us a copy, I finally got around to reading it, and I loved it.

To be honest, I was wary about reading it aloud to Sebastien. He has been known to have nightmares, or just cry at bedtime, saying he doesn't want to die, or he doesn't want someone he loves to die. Knowing that death is a big theme in this book, I wasn't sure how he would handle it. Well, I finally decided to read it to him, having heard before that story books are generally a safe and comfortable way to address big issues with kids without actually making them feel insecure in real life.

Right off the bat, I felt this book was meant to be read aloud. It seems to lend itself to just the right cadence to be heard in an entertaining and meaningful way. Of course the goose's speech is fun in and of itself, with dialogue like, "Probably-obably-obably!" But there were also descriptive passages that were a joy to read even while they left a lump in my throat, like the following on page 131 of my edition: "The children grabbed each other by the hand and danced off in the direction of the merry-go-round, toward the wonderful music and the wonderful adventure and the wonderful excitement, into the wonderful midway where there would be no parents to guard them and guide them, and where they could be happy and free and do as they pleased."

Sigh. Which brings me to the next reason I loved this book. It's just the perfect depiction of life and death and birth and growth and change and acceptance. Charlotte is a beautiful and intelligent friend to Wilbur, but she's still a spider, which means she drinks the blood of bugs. No use trying to ignore that fact, that's just the way it is. She lives her life fully, even as she ages and grows tired. Still, seasons change, and life continues. Fern grows up, as all children must.

About 2/3 of the way through the book, Sebastien wanted to take a break from it - I'm not sure why. But when he was ready to pick it up again, he was committed to finishing it. I teared up lots as the book came to a close, but Sebastien wasn't bothered. I think it all seemed matter-of-fact for him. I know he liked it, because he kept asking for one more chapter, one more chapter!

This book is going on our family room bookshelf, and I hope he picks it up again one day to read for himself.

Warriors Roundup

This series seems to have a bit of everything that makes up a good story. There's an invented world in which cats live in clans in the forest. They live by their own warrior code, which values honor, courage, respect, and discipline. Among the clan, there are loyalties and enemies, alliances and betrayals. Even StarClan - a spiritual clan in the night sky - provides a supernatural flair. The series follows a "kittypet" - a cat born in the human world and raised as a pet - who gives up his life of comfort to join ThunderClan.

Throughout the epic tale, there is action and mystery, love and hatred. Friendships form, relationships get complicated, some cats leave their clan, others die. It's a remarkably compelling read, and I was surprised by how much it drew me in.

• Into the Wild (#1) ★★★★★
• Fire and Ice (#2) ★★★★
• Forest of Secrets (#3) ★★★★½
• Rising Storm (#4) ★★★
• A Dangerous Path (#5) ★★★
• The Darkest Hour (#6) ★★★★★

After reading this series, I absolutely did not feel ready to leave the forest! I was thrilled to find out that there is actually a huge Warriors franchise. There are series about the next generations of cats, and also Super Editions featuring characters from the original series. I don't know how many other Warriors-related books I'll read, but of course I'll list whatever I do read here.

Super Editions

• Firestar's Quest (#1) ★★★½
• Yellowfang's Secret (#5) ★★½
• Tallstar's Revenge (#6) ★★★½

Firestar's Quest (Warriors Super Edition #1) by Erin Hunter

★★★½

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

Okay... I don't know if I'm actually starting to get tired of the series, or if maybe I shouldn't have read two other super editions before reading this one, but I wasn't as blown away by this book as I was by the original series.

Even though this was the first super edition published, I actually read it after having already read Yellowfang's Secret and Tallstar's Revenge. In this book, the big quest involves Firestar going on a long journey, with Sandstorm accompanying him. But I actually found Tallstar's travels - which he undertook alone - much more interesting, making Firestar and Sandstorm's trip somewhat less impressive. In Yellowfang's Secret, ShadowClan tried to take down a bunch of rats, but despite being a large, well-trained clan, they actually lost the first battle. In light of that, it seemed unlikely that a young SkyClan - with fewer cats and less battle experience - would be able to defeat a sea of evil rats that had previously dominated over the first SkyClan.

I really liked the whole idea of Firestar building a clan from scratch, but many of the supporting details bothered me. From the beginning, it just didn't make sense that StarClan would allow four clans to gang up on and chase out the fifth clan. I just don't see how StarClan could have allowed such a major violation of the warrior code! Then, once Firestar understood his quest, I was annoyed that he was so wishy-washy about it. Sandstorm had to keep reassuring him that he was doing the right thing. I think it would have been more in character for Firestorm to complete his quest with conviction, never wavering from the goal, even if he felt unsure about himself along the way. Furthermore, as soon as the Shining / Whispering Cave was discovered, it was so clear that it ought to have served the same purpose as the Moonstone - a place for cats to speak with their warrior ancestors. Yet, in the end, the SkyClan cats communed with StarClan at Skyrock - so what was the point of the cave? Even when Echosong came along, it still wasn't clear. Why could some cats hear voices, and others couldn't? Would the cave only be used by medicine cats? Finally, I really thought Rainfur should have given a life to SkyClan's new leader!

Even the ending was unsatisfying for me. I wanted to read a bit about how the other clan members - and the other clans - reacted when Firestar told them the whole history of the fifth clan. I am assuming Firestar would have shared the entire story at a Gathering, since it was not actually a ThunderClan secret and was information that all clans were entitled to know. In fact, in hindsight, I think Firestar should have told the other clans before he left, giving every clan a chance - if they wanted it - to go with him to help repair the damage that all their warrior ancestors had done. Seems to me that once Firestar returned, the other clans might not have been happy, and might have accused him of trying to form an alliance with another clan!

But, I did enjoy reading about the process by which Firestar built the clan, having to recruit members and teach them about the warrior code, and having to be patient as some lessons couldn't be learned except by experience.

Tallstar's Revenge (Warriors Super Edition #6) by Erin Hunter

★★★½

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

In many ways, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the moor runner versus tunneler dynamics were intriguing, and Tallpaw's struggle to please his parents and make them proud while also following his own destiny was relatable. Talltail's adventures beyond the WindClan borders were great, and I especially enjoyed his friendship with Jake. I also liked the whole idea that Talltail had to follow his heart and go on a journey before realizing that WindClan really was his home, and home was where he belonged.

Unfortunately, I also felt the book was plagued with under-developed ideas. Based on what we saw in the book, it really did seem as if Palebird didn't love Talltail as much as Finchkit or her other four kits that came later. Yet, when Talltail became Tallstar, we're just supposed to accept that her mother's love for him was just as strong as her love for all her kits, even though she never showed it?

Also, I couldn't figure out what the rogues were all about. WindClan seriously allowed a band of rogues to stay with them all summer long just because "they've always come"?! They let the outsiders train with their apprentices, and share dens with their warriors and elders?! It just didn't make sense, having read the Warriors series and knowing how Clan cats supposedly feel about non-Clan cats.

Overall, a good story about how revenge isn't the answer, and home is where the heart is. As usual, it's especially satisfying to see cameos made by other known Warriors cats, and there's a real gem of a connection in this one, if you make it to the end.

Yellowfang's Secret (Warriors Super Edition #5) by Erin Hunter

★★½

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!!! ***

Maybe as a standalone book, this one would have been 3 stars. But in comparison with the original Warriors series, I felt I had to lower its rating relative to the other books in the series.

Fans of the Warriors series will know who Yellowfang is, and this book follows her life from the time she was a kit up until the point at which we first met her in the series, when she meets Firepaw. You don't need to have read the Warriors series to enjoy this book, as it introduces clan life assuming the reader does not have any prior knowledge of it. In that way, I actually felt the book had a slow start, as I was already well-versed in the ways of the clans.

Overall, this book has a more mature feel to it. Even though it's about talking cats, it seems like the target audience ought to be upper elementary school kids, or even middle schoolers. We have a fatherless kit who struggled with feelings of abandonment. Clan cats are pitted against kittypets, and the prejudice runs in both directions as neither group understands or accepts the other - except for a select few. There is an outright vengeful murder of passion, plus a lot of meaningless deaths later on. Yellowfang makes one difficult decision after another, and suffers painful consequences.

Mostly, I didn't know what to make of Yellowfang's pregnancy. On the one hand, she abandoned her kit, even knowing how much being abandoned affected Raggedstar as a kit. On the other hand, she was trying to do the "right thing" in terms of being disciplined and loyal and following the warrior code. Her dreams from StarClan seemed to indicate that there was no possible way to divert the evil for which Brokentail was destined - so is there no free choice in this world of forest clans? (In the Warriors series, we did see evidence of free choice when the united clans defeated BloodClan despite the omens Fireheart had received.) If there is free choice, are we to believe that the evil could have been avoided ONLY if Yellowfang had chosen motherhood over being a medicine cat, or worst yet, if Yellowfang had had an abortion? I don't know if this was the intent, but it sure felt like Yellowfang was being punished by StarClan for having broken the warrior code with Raggedstar. Frankly, in those extenuating circumstances, would it have been so bad if Yellowfang spent six moons mothering a kit?

Anyway, what I liked most about this book was when it tied into what I already knew from the Warrior series. I liked that the characters of Nightpelt and Runningnose were fleshed out, since we only saw glimpses of them in the Warriors series.

Secrets According to Humphrey (Humphrey #10) by Betty G. Birney

★★★★★

One of the better books in the series!

In this installment, secrets run amok. First, Mrs. Brisbane and Principal Morales have a big secret that will be revealed eventually, but Humphrey is dying of curiosity in the meantime. Then, small groups of kids start forming secret clubs, feelings get hurt, and we all get a good lesson about not excluding others. One student has a bit of a problem that he keeps secret, and Humphrey plays a significant role in helping him to overcome it. Even Aldo has a secret, but it's not very important, just one more thing for Humphrey to wonder about. I liked that the secrets were all reasonably believable and relatable.

Sebastien was pretty bummed about this being the last Humphrey book in the series. He has absolutely LOVED reading about Humphrey!! Luckily, he saw a "Coming soon!" advertisement in one of the books about Imagination According to Humphrey, which will be published in 2015, so at least we have that to look forward to.

The Darkest Hour (Warriors #6) by Erin Hunter

★★★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

This book was awesome!

From start to finish, this book was action-packed, suspenseful, and emotional. I LOVED the scene when Fireheart received his nine lives! There is a bit of a spiritual angle in this book, with belief in StarClan being kind of like a religious faith. It's not exactly like religion, though, because the fact that clan leaders do actually get nine lives makes the existence of StarClan kind of incontestable.

I almost gave this book 4 1/2 stars because I was so disappointed in the way Tigerstar died. It was a shame, and not at all fitting, for such a fierce warrior to die in such an ignoble way. And I just couldn't fathom how any one injury could cause him to lose all nine lives at once! But, after seeing what happened to Firestar after he lost his first life, I could imagine a scenario in which Tigerstar faced StarClan but refused to repent, and his insistence on fighting caused him to return to life before he had fully healed, meaning that he started each new life with a mortal injury. I guess it still bothered me a little that I had to come up with that explanation myself, but also, by the end of the book, it became clear that it was important to the story that Scourge not know about the nine lives of leaders until he faced Firestar.

Like Forest of Secrets, this book really struck me as being more appropriate for an older age group - like middle school. There's quite a bit of gore, and a lot of explicit descriptions of killing. Again, I find myself intrigued at the idea that somehow, certain things like violence are less objectionable just because the main characters are cats.

In the end, I couldn't let a couple misgivings stop me from giving this book 5 stars. I just couldn't put it down, I wanted to see what would happen next!

Now that I've finished this series, I'm hooked. And given my wariness when I started the first book, I'm pretty darn shocked at how much it won me over. When I lamented to Isabelle that I was so sad to not have any more books to read about cats, she said, "Well, there are the super editions." What! A quick search brought me to this page, which lists a whole bunch of Warriors books! A lot of them are about the next generation of cats, and I don't know if I'll read them all, but the super editions are all about the cats in the original series, so I'll definitely read those!

Winter According to Humphrey (Humphrey #9) by Betty G. Birney

★★★★

A solid installment in the Humphrey series!

It's winter, and Mrs. Brisbane's class will be participating in the school-wide Winter Wonderland production. As usual, Humphrey plays a role in helping a few classmates sort out some issues. Valuable lessons are learned, and everybody has some fun. There's nothing objectionable in this book, and it's a very pleasant and entertaining read. But, there's also not much to make it particularly memorable, or a stand-out in the series, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

A Dangerous Path (Warriors #5) by Erin Hunter

★★★

*** WARNING: This review contains spoilers!!! ***

In many ways, the two halves of this book felt like 2 different books entirely. I spent the first half of the book feeling frustrated and infuriated at the inexplicable complications being contrived. Tigerclaw is a murderous traitor roaming the forest, and ThunderClan does not think that information is worth sharing with the other clans? Not even with RiverClan, when Tigerclaw helped cause Graypool's death? Then, StarClan blesses Tigerclaw's leadership of ShadowClan?!? Why would StarClan approve of someone who had so blatantly violated the warrior code?!?!

Even though the series is, of course, focused on cats, it didn't sit right with me that dogs were characterized as a cave-dwelling, barbarous, unevolved species that could only grunt single instinct-related words. I'm not a huge pet lover or anything, but still I was put off by the distinct contrast in the way dogs and cats were represented.

I was also bothered by the continual fretting over kits who had parents in another clan. In this book, we had three sets of kits who were separated from one parent's clan: those of Bluestar, Graystripe, and Tigerstar. It seemed like a pretty common occurrence that didn't deserve the stigma it carried. Also, it seemed strange that none of the cats involved reached out to the others for support. Like Bluestar could have bonded with Graystripe, Mistyfoot and Stonefur could have taken Graystripe's kits under their wings, and Graystripe could have sympathized with Tigerstar's kits. And the sexism! Bluestar could not be both a parent and a leader (which led to their separation in the first place), yet no one bat an eye at the idea of Tigerstar having kits, even when he became a leader.

Also, I didn't understand why such a big deal was made out of ThunderClan being hugely indebted to RiverClan for helping them during the fire. Didn't ThunderClan perform an equal service when they helped RiverClan during the river flood? Each saved the other from a natural disaster. You'd think they'd consider themselves even.

Bluestar's mental decline was just a bit too much to take - what a long way to fall for such a noble leader! And I really didn't get why killing the lead dog would automatically negate the threat of dogs in the forest. When a clan leader died, another took over. Why wouldn't another dog step up as leader of the pack, and seek revenge on the cats?

Well. With all those complaints, I thought I'd end up giving this book only 2 stars. But, really, I have to admit, the second half of the book was quite exciting, lots of action and surprises, and I really did enjoy the book more and more as the book progressed. By the end, I thought maybe it was a 4-star book, so I comprised and went with 3 stars.

Rising Storm (Warriors #4) by Erin Hunter

★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

This book had kind of a slow start. On the one hand, Fireheart had a lot of problems to deal with - including Tigerclaw, Bluestar, Cloudpaw, and the sick ShadowClan cats - but at the same time, I frequently just felt like I was waiting for something to actually happen.

For much of the book, Cloudpaw's evolution was the most interesting subplot to me. As much as his story's twists and turns surprised me, I couldn't help but feel that his character was poorly developed. He held such promise as a young kit, so what made him change? He was acting like a lazy and rebellious teenager, yet none of the other kits or apprentices seemed to go through such a phase.

Three-quarters of the way through the book, it was like we finally got rewarded for sticking it out. Lots of action and emotion, and more than any of the other books so far, it ends on a real cliffhanger.

Forest of Secrets (Warriors #3) by Erin Hunter

★★★★½

I was really conflicted about what to rate this book. On the one hand, I was riveted! As the title suggests, this book is just chock full of secrets! In some cases, enough hints were dropped so that the reader could feel self-congratulatory for figuring something out. But, there were also a couple of unexpected twists that did surprise me. Developments happened at a pretty good clip, and there was just the right amount of suspense between action-packed battles.

So even though I was thoroughly entertained by this book, I just couldn't give it a full 5 stars. I felt the first two books were appropriate for kids in the upper elementary grades (e.g., grades 3-5), but the content of this book seemed to fall squarely in the middle school camp. In fact, Amazon lists the first two books as appropriate for grades 3-7, but this third book is labeled for grades 5-7! It seems a bit much to expect a third grader to read the first two books, and then wait a couple years before finishing the series. Especially since Amazon has books #4-6 of the series going back to listing grades 3-7 as the target audience!

Anyway, here are the concerns I had. There was a bit of romantic drama involving queens having kits and who fathered whose kits, though I have to say, the book skirted the issue of mating pretty effectively. There's also a whole lot of violence, including a crippling injury, murder, attempted murder, and treachery. Not to mention a death of a sad and sensitive nature. I don't think the events of this book would fly as a children's book if the characters were all humans - but I guess that's the point, right? They're cats. I guess by making up a fantasy world of talking cats, you can get away with more than you could with actual people.

It's an interesting question, though. Why am I okay allowing my 3rd grade daughter to read about anthropomorphized cats killing other anthropomorphized cats, when I certainly would not want her to read a book about people killing people? I guess the whole point of creating fantasy worlds is to open up the realms of possibility.