Purrfect Cat Books for Kids

The Cat & Cat Adventures early reader graphic novels are some of my daughter’s favorite books. This is the fourth book in the series, and while you don’t have to read them in order to enjoy the story, I do recommend doing so, as they build off one another. The first book is Cat & Cat Adventures: The Quest for Snacks. In this fourth book, Ginny and Squash are joined by previous adventurers, Fern and Lotus, in a quest to find the staff of knowledge. This time, it’s in the human world instead of the spirit world. Their search takes them to the dreaded vet’s office, and when Squash tries to get the staff to serve up some snacks, a power surge scatters magical orbs throughout the human world. Can the team find them before chaos ensues?

This first book in a new chapter book series is so sweet. It’s told from two perspectives. Fifth grader Miguel Rosado loves art, but his parents, who own a bodega, think he should abandon his art pursuits and concentrate on science. Lolo is a street cat who finds a home at Miguel’s bodega. The two swiftly become friends. Miguel secretly joins an art club, lying to his parents, while Lolo is displeased when another cat tries to make the bodega home, too. Miguel’s comic books are interspersed throughout. This would be a great read for transitional readers or early middle grade readers. A second book in the series is releasing in January.

This is one of the most adorable cat picture books I’ve seen. It’s less about story and more about floofy adorableness, and I’m not complaining. Floof is a floofy cat who enjoys sitting in boxes, terrorizing the neighbor’s dog by ignoring it, spilling drinks onto laptops, and more playful and destructive kitty pursuits. The language is simple, and the illustrations will leave kids and adults smiling.

When a cat appears on Stacey’s porch, she calls it Not My Cat. Not My Cat keeps appearing on her porch and hanging around, despite Stacey not wanting a cat. And yet, despite not wanting a cat, Stacey feeds the cat, buys toys for her, invites her inside. Soon, Not My Cat is surely Stacey’s cat. But when she disappears, Stacey worries she might not come back. This sweet and fun picture book is based on the author’s experiences with a stray cat that soon became her cat.

This is the second book in a hilarious middle grade graphic novel series. I do recommend reading the first book before reading this one — The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. In The Soup of Doom, the Moon Queen is poisoned after she eats a single bite of soup. Can First Cat find an antidote in time? And who poisoned her? Meanwhile, LOZ 4000 is on a quest to understand his purpose in life. He might be the only way to save the Moon Queen.

Ten-year-old Beatrice has had a lot of heartache in her life: her grandmother recently died, her father abandoned the family years ago, and her best friend has moved away. She decides to become like the Tin Man and harden her heart so nothing can get to her. She has eight cats and five wishes to try to make her dream of feeling nothing come true, and when a boy moves in with a spellcasting grandmother, she decides to enlist their help. This is a magical younger middle grade about coping with grief and finding some magic in life — with the help of cats, of course.

Kitties love to help you read. This is such a great card for someone who loves cats and kidlit! $4

Like many cat-loving kids, my daughter loves Hello Kitty. She drew this for a friend, who was celebrating her ninth birthday.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, X @AReaderlyMom, Bluesky @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is [email protected].

All the best,
Margaret Kingsbury