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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks Author: Colleen AF Venable
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: 2-6 Genre/Type of Book: Fantasy/Superhero Fiction/Graphic Novel
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: None that I noticed!! Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: The third installment in a series I already love!! If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: Catsitting never looked so super!
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Review:
Katie and the Moustress are back again in this third installment in the Katie the Catsitter series. This time, it appears an evil corporation is attacking the city with evil robots intent on taking over! Owl Guy, AKA The Eastern Screech, is back and refusing to admit it, and the Moustress is being painted as a villain, AGAIN. On top of all of that, Katie's sidekick training is NOT going as planned, and she's struggling to keep her friendships afloat, as well as keeping her sidekick identity secret from her mom. Will Katie, The Moustress, and co. get to the bottom of the evil plan AND solve their personal problems?
I already love this series, and this was another excellent installment. Katie is such a believable character, and on top of dealing with the superhero/supervillain problems in her life, she's also struggling with friendships. Secrets, new friends changing the dynamics, feeling inferior to each other, and more add a real-life dynamic that everyone has dealt with at one point or another. Also, there is a theme of honesty throughout, where many of the characters need to be honest with each other and their families. It was a nice reminder that even adults struggle to tell the truth to each other, their kids, or their own parents sometimes, and showed the characters working through it instead of just waving the magic plot wand to get rid of it all.
There was even a really great scene with the former Eastern Screech making video notes revealing his own personal struggles which felt SO real. This added to the theme of looking below the surface of someone/not judging a book by its cover which is a strong metaphor with everyone always thinking the Moustress is evil when she is always on the side of animals. I love the complexity of these books, since it shows that we don't have to hide behind simple stories for kids! They can handle complexity and nuance.
The illustrations, as always, are great. The color palettes are diverse and help the reader remember which characters they are with/where they are. For example, the Moustress wears a lavender color, and her secret lab/lair is often the same color to help the reader remember that they go together. The cats are the stars of the show, as always, and you have to laugh at their hilarious characterizations. I can't say enough about how fun they are. There are also lots of different skin tones represented, and a few different body types among Katie's friends and the adults in her life. It's nice to see a cast of different people that feels like a slice of the world.
Fans of Katie the Catsitter and other graphic novels will be looking for this one, as well as cat fans, and fans of Raina Telgemeier, I think. It has a similar look and feel, which you could use to promote it. You can also use it in a superhero fiction display, and in talks about stereotyping, being true to yourself, looking deeper into other's stories instead of just surface level, helping with friendship dynamics, etc. There is a lot packed into one little novel!!
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Find more resources for Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks at TeachingBooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website
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