Hot Cat, Cool Cat

PreS-Gr 3–A cute story of friendship between two characters who are not alike. Kip and Kit are two cats who are said to be complete opposites. “Kip likes to run. Kit likes to sit.” “Kip is brave. Kit is careful.” One day, Kip eats too much cake and gets a cramp while swimming. Kit overcomes her careful nature and jumps in to save her best friend. The joyful and colorful illustrations are eye-catching, while providing context clues to newly independent readers. This book could be used to talk about accepting people for who they are. While these two friends do have different interests and contrasting personalities, this is not a book about opposites as it is marketed and as the title suggests. “Kip likes cake. Kit likes fish.” “Kip likes mice. Kit likes horses.” The likes of these two friends are different but are not quite opposites. Overall, the book is focused on the topic of friendship; it slightly misses the mark on an opposites book, but it is a well-written simple read for new readers.