Heart-y Reading: Love, Splat! by Rob Scotton

Kitten has snowy, white paws and pea green eyes, and Splat liked her more than fish sticks and ice cream.

Rob Scotton's delightful cat character, Splat the Cat, first introduced last year as he dealt with the anxiety of the first day of school, is back, coping with the second-most anxiety-provoking day of the school year--VALENTINE (yikes!) DAY.

Splat has a boy cat-crush on Kitten, but despite his efforts his love seems to be unrequited. Whenever he tries to talk to her, she pokes him, ties his tail in a tangle, and scampers away on her cute little white paws. Still, Splat hopes that his special Valentine card will win her heart.

But when Splat arrives at school for the big day, his hopes are dashed when he sees that classroom top cat Spike has a much bigger card addressed to Kitten. It's a cat-astrophe for poor little Splat, until Kitten turns the tables on tough tomcat Spike and gives her own specially made Valentine to Splat, with the longed-for message, "I Like You!"

Love, Splat, is the perfect vehicle to show off Rob Scotton's (of Russell the Sheep fame) quirky but eye-catching illustrative style. Splat's squiggly, spiky shape is the perfect visual foil for his giant red Valentine, and his comic expressions as he contemplates the capricious object of his affections tell the story almost without the benefit of the apt text. This holiday tale is a great second outing for this nervous-as-a-cat character with whom all kids will find it easy to identify.

Boo! Scaredy-Cat Splat! by Rob Scotton

"We have all made jack o' lanterns and everyone is dressing up in costumes, and Mrs. Wimpydimple is going to tell a ghost story, and there is a prize for the scariest cat, and I want to be the scariest cat!

So please, can I take the spider to school... P-L-E-A-S-E?" said Splat without taking a breath.

Rob Scotton's first-grade cat is back in his new Halloween story, Scaredy-Cat, Splat! (Splat the Cat) (Harper, 2010). As always, Splat is a strong-minded little cat who this time sees himself copping the prize as the scariest cat in the classroom. "I'm a scary witch's cat," he tells himself.

But Splat's imagined glory begins to look like a disaster when he trips and breaks his witchy broom. His mom is sympathetic and quickly comes up with a creative spider costume of her own design, and Splat sets forth for school with his usual high hopes and his own cheering squad, a black spider in a jar and Seymour the mouse in costume as well. But his classmates have been equally creative. Spike is swathed in white as a mummy, and Plank is a skeleton, and Splat's usual self-confidence is shaken.

"Awww," Splat sighed. "Spike and Plank are both scarier than me.

I'll never win the prize for the scariest cat."

But when Mrs. Wimpydimple comes to the punch line of that famous jump tale "In a Dark Dark Wood," Splat is so taken aback that his startled tail slaps his own jack o' lantern spinning into the air and right down on his own head. Amazed, the whole class of little scary cats agrees that Splat has topped the competition--as the scariest cat of them all!

Scotton's illustrations, his googly-eyed, spiked-haired little hero set off on white in strong spot art, carries this slight little story to a satisfying and chuckle-provoking conclusion for picture book fans. His latest, Scaredy-Cat, Splat! (Splat the Cat), joins its now lengthening list of series mates, Splat the Cat, Merry Christmas, Splat (Splat the Cat), Love, Splat (Splat the Cat), Splat the Cat: Where's the Easter Bunny? and Splat the Cat: Splat the Cat Sings Flat (I Can Read Book 1).

Stocking Stuffer: Merry Christmas, Splat! by Rob Scotton

DEAR SANTA,

CAN I HAVE A REALLY BIG PRESENT FOR CHRISTMAS?

THANK YOU,
SPLAT

P.S. I have been a very good cat.

Proud of his expansive letter to Santa, Splat can't resist showing it off to his sister.

"Only REALLY good cats get really big presents from Santa," she said.

"Are you SURE you have been good?"

"Of course," said Splat.

She gave Splat a look that only a little sister can give.

" R-E-A-L-L-Y?"

His sister's words plant a seed of doubt in Splat's self-image. Has he really been that good this year? He decides he needs a little Santa insurance.

"Mom! I'm going to help you get ready for Christmas!" he informs his mother. And Splat is as good as his word. He enthusiastically washes the Christmas dishes, stacking them precariously all over the sudsy kitchen, even though his mom had already taken care of that chore. Splat adds so many ornaments to one side of the tree that it threatens to collapse under the weight, and setting out to clear the snow on the doorstep, he opens the door to an avalanche of the white stuff.

"Being so good is very tiring," observes the super-good Splat, turning in early with his trusty flashlight to make sure that Santa comes through with his really big present. Of course, Santa is as sly as Splat is self-assured, and the gift arrives practically under Splat's whiskered nose as Santa makes us co-conspirators with a shushing finger to his lips as, unseen, he whisks a really big present right beneath Splat's tree.

In this third adventure in the Splat the Cat series, titled Merry Christmas, Splat (Splat the Cat), Rob Scotton's young cat character bristles with energy and impetuous high spirits as always, fairly bursting off the page in Scotton's stylized but oh-so-faithfully-feline portrayals. Other books in this series include Splat the Cat and Love, Splat (Splat the Cat). There's even a plush character, Splat the Cat Doll: 8", to set off this appealing entry for the gift-giving season.

My Funny Valentine... Splat the Cat: Funny Valentine by Rob Scotton

"REMEMBER FOR TOMORROW, CLASS," SAID MRS. WIMPYDIMPLE.

"DON'T FORGET TO BRING IN SOMETHING FOR A SPECIAL VALENTINE."

You might think that Splat's tail would be twitching anxiously, as usual, worrying that his sometime-rival Spike is going to sweep the lovely Kitten off her feet with his special Valentine.

But not this time.

In this lift-the-flap Splat holiday adventure, Splat the Cat: Funny Valentine (Harper Festival, 2012), Splat wants to surprise someone else who is special--to all of them--Mrs. Wimpydimple.

In a fold-down flap, Splat reveals his carefully-formatted plan for a surprise party for their teacher. Kitten is to make the cookies, Splat will provide the poem for the Valentine card, and Spike is responsible for the arts and crafts supplies.

"MEET AT THE CLUBHOUSE!" SPLAT SAYS.

At their rendezvous, the door opens to the secret knock to reveal Spike with stacks of supplies ready for the project, and everyone gets to work. Kitten is even sewing a mouse-sized costume for Splat's sidekick, Seymour the Mouse, who is also making something special from a ball of pink ribbon.

Finally the project is finished and sits on its decorative stand, draped in a mysterious black cloth. The conspirators are pleased and excited.

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER!" SAYS SPLAT.

What is under the flap with the black drape concealing it? What is Mrs. Wimpydimple's special Valentine surprise? Young readers will be eager to find out what those purr-fect cat conspirators have prepared for the class party, in this happy Valentine tale from Splat's creator Rob Scotten and his cohorts, writer Annie Auerbach and the artists at Splat the Cat Studio. This holiday treat makes a sure-fire classroom read and lead-in to Valentine crafts. Sturdy and extremely well-designed, using a variety of perspectives in their flap formats to maximize suspense, this one also makes a nice Valentine gift for young readers and their teachers. For a Valentine's twosome, pair this one with Scotton's other heart-y treat, Love, Splat (Splat the Cat). (See review here.)

Love Bites! Smelly Bill: Love Stinks by Daniel Postgate

Bill is a pooch who loves to nosh on trash, a habit which has rightfully earned him the name "Smelly Bill." But when Cupid's arrow finds its mark, everything changes.

When Bill saw Peachy Snugglekins
Come trotting past the rubbish bins,
His knees felt weak, his eyes grew wide.
He felt all gooey inside.
He dropped his bag of rotting stuff.
He'd seen enough.
He was in LOVE!

It's obvious that Peachy's mistress, Great Aunt Bleach, is not going to look with favor upon Bill in his current garbage-grungy state, so the next morning Bill's family awakens to a brand-new sight (straight out of Harry the Dirty Dog)--Bill in the bathtub, scrub brush in his mouth, begging for a bath.

The bath doesn't do much for Bill's looks, but he smells so good that his owners decide to enter him in the town's pooch parade, competing for the "Best Dog" Prize. Bill is thrilled; it's his chance to woo the lovely Peachy Snugglekins and make a better impression on Aunt Bleach as well.

But alas, Bill without the smell is still Bill, not exactly a winningly winsome sight with his long, pointy snout set off with snaggly teeth. The parade viewers are not kind:

"He's like a walking toilet brush!"

Bill is crushed.

But then danger strikes. A huge hound of horror, Vesuvius, begins to erupt in a frenzy of snarls and barks, and Aunt Bleach's little darling is pursued into the mucky swamp deep in the middle of the forest. Only Bill has the right stuff to rescue the imperiled Peachy and win her heart as well. Pretty is as pretty does, and even Aunt Bleach sees Bill's inner beauty just in time.

Daniel Postgate's second doggy drama starring his canine hero Bill, Smelly Bill: Love Stinks (Albert Whitman, 2010) is a jolly rhyming canine variant of Beauty and the Beast which will please primary-grade pooch lovers everywhere. Pair this one with Rob Scotton's tale of his love-smitten kitten, Love, Splat (Splat the Cat) for a pair of pet lover-pleasing love stories for the upcoming Valentine season.

Daniel Postgate's first Bill story is Smelly Bill.