When the Silliest Cat Was Small

by: Gilles Bachelet

Published by: Abrams Books for Young Readers

Review by Claire Vath

From celebrated French author Gilles Bachelet comes his latest children’s book, When the Silliest Cat Was Small. His most recent book, My Cat, The Silliest Cat in the World, garnered much attention for its goofy storyline.

When the Silliest Cat Was Small describes the author’s first days with his new “kitten” and the adjustments his pet makes to new surroundings. When the narrator goes to pick out a “kitten,” he chooses one that has large, floppy ears, a winding trunk and weighs several hundred pounds.

The kitten—as evidenced by the illustrations—is, in fact, an enormous, hulking elephant—a detail to which the narrator seems impervious. The straight-faced humor throughout the book involves the “kitten” doing typical feline things—playing with toys, drinking milk and cleaning itself.

Bachelet’s illustrations are charming, but very young readers will either be puzzled by the kitten’s appearance or will point out that the author’s feline friend is actually an elephant.

Armchair Interviews says: This concept seems a bit obtuse for the age intended.