Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson, illustrated by J. Klassen

A clowder of cats fill the pages here, counted up one by one all the way to twenty.  (Don’t you love the term “clowder" for a group of cats?  It’s very appropriate here because it sounds so much like “louder.”)  On each page, the cats appear in different dance costumes and a different type of dance is shown.  Line dancing with rhinestones, tangoing in red capes, and polkaing in flip-flops are just some of the great matchups of costume and dance.  The cats dance until the people in the apartment buildings can’t take the noise anymore. Readers will love dancing to dawn with these delightful felines.

Stutson has created a counting book that is a pleasure to read aloud.  Her rhymes are unforced and natural, with the vowels rhyming but rarely the full word, creating a more flowing verse.  The illustrations take this book to another level.  Done in subtle browns and grays, the setting is clearly urban and has the feel of an intimate club that morphs into an almost Broadway show effect as the cats become more numerous.  Klassen evokes a timeless feel with her illustrations but they are definitely modern with a hip, suave tone perfect for these confident dancers. 

Highly recommended, this book is one of the hippest counting books to come along.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.