The Cat Who Got Carried Away

My husband bought this book for my 7 year old as a present after a bookstore owner highly recommended it. My daughter had never read any chapter book on her own. Often however, we read shorter books together, her reading every other page. This is because she gets intimidated by multiple pages with a lot of text even though she can read it. While my husband and I chatted, my daughter sat down on the floor to look at the book, and ended up reading it cover to cover. She didn't lift her head up once. What makes this book so compelling for kids at her level is the illustrations (several per page), the white space on every page, the largish font (large for a chapter book), and the mystery element. There are about three mysteries that are being followed through the story, and it is fun for kids to try to figure them out. My daughter loved as well the unpredictability -- you never knew what crazy thing would happen next. "The Man Who Wore All His Clothes" is written and illustrated by the same people and similar in layout to this book. I gave that to my daughter next and again she sat down and read it cover to cover in a single sitting. Ahlberg and McEwan clearly have a winning formula. If you are looking for a jumping off point for a reader almost able to start chapter books but a little scared, this is what you're looking for. With these two books under her belt, my daughter began Junie B. Jones on her own, and is now devouring them.

This was a really fun read for the kids (ages 3 and 5). Very uniquely written, and they really got into the "mystery" of what was happening to the pets in the neighborhood. Very nice graphics as well.

My son is only 3 1/2, but he LOVED this book. I enjoyed it too, from the non-traditional format to the hint of British humor. We laughed together as we read it--"just one more chapter, please!"

All 3 of my kids (ages 6-12) enjoyed this book, as did I. It is a fun, quick read. Highly recommended.