Of course, ailurophiles (cat lovers) are the perfect audience for author/artist Natalia Shaloshvili's enchantingly whimsical picture book, What a Small Cat Needs, but it's also likely to attract anyone and everyone who opens their hearts to animals. As in Miss Leoparda, Shaloshvili's text is once again smoothly translated from the original Russian by Lena Traer.
"What does a small cat need?" Shaloshvili queries. Her furry protagonist here has two small eyes, two small ears, four small paws, and "a body, with spots on her back." She also needs a tail--"even a small one"--to lure a fish, as well as "small pointy teeth" to catch a mouse to feed the "big hunger in her belly." When she can't hold on to her catch, her hungry belly will need milk. With hunger sated, she needs diversions and adventures--"a flower patch. For this and that" and rain for getting soaked (why not?). But when showers become torrential, she'll need "a roof to hide under," walls for protection, and a window with a view. Afterward, she'll need sunlight "to warm her furry belly." Most of all, when darkness falls and she "feel[s] a bit scared," she'll need a door where she can wait for that special "someone to walk in." That someone just needs "a big heart and warm hands" for purring snuggles. "Because every cat--big and small--needs that very much." Everyone does.
Shaloshvili creates dreamy, welcoming spreads, capturing a heartwarming softness that avoids sharp angles and dividing lines. She favors a blue-scale palette with bright pops of orange and yellow (and the tiny pink triangular kitty nose), creating inviting, multilayered textures. She, of course, centers the small titular feline throughout but also presents a delightful chorus of protective seabirds with charming personalities: one adorable blue-beanied avian buddy jauntily upstages the kitty on the title page. The kitty, with bright button-shaped blue eyes, remains utterly irresistible as she sports a round polka-dotted floaty when near open water, wears a bib when hopeful for a meal, and is protected by boots and an umbrella in the downpour. She drinks from teacups and basks in sunshine with an open book (even if she might be dozing off). Her human arrives home--nose and ears flushed from just having come in from the cold--and their matching eyes are immediately noticeable, suggesting a forever promise to provide everything a small cat will ever need. --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Natalia Shaloshvili's inviting picture book whimsically captures a small cat's many needs--milk, a flower patch, a window--but what she needs most is that special someone with a big heart.