Review - My Lazy Cat

My Lazy Cat
by Christine Roussey
Date: 2017
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Meet Boomer, a roly-poly cat. He’s always in a happy mood, and he’s the best friend of one little girl. But boy is Boomer lazy! From morning to night, Boomer can be found lounging around the house, snoring and snoozing.

The little girl, on the other hand, is much too busy for a nap. She’s got judo, swimming, yoga, painting, rugby, and biking to do! She does not have a minute to herself, and she can’t be late! But one particularly jam-packed morning, Boomer accidentally keeps the girl from getting out the door. Instead of panicking, she decides to take the day at Boomer’s pace for once. They spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the garden, and the girl is reminded how nice it is to slow down and appreciate life’s simple pleasures.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

While I don't have a problem with the overall premise here (a girl slows down and enjoys nature with her cat), I thought the way it all happened was a bit contrived. The girl basically has her day's plans derailed when she trips over her morbidly obese cat.

Two points: First, I hate seeing obese pets. It's not cute. It's abusive on the part of the owner. Second, I just can't get past the way the cat's tail is drawn. It looked extremely phallic on the cover, but I thought maybe it would be better on the inside. (Hint: it isn't.) Why the author chose to draw those two horizontal lines on the cat's tail is beyond me.

So this book gets some points for the message, but the illustrations really bring it down. I don't really care if this is a rescue cat; it's been living with the little girl long enough for him to be her best friend, so I'd like to see some responsible animal care going on. Cats don't need to be fat to be lazy; aside from promoting harmful stereotypes about weight, this book also makes it seem okay to keep your pet so fat their legs can barely touch the ground.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5