My son was around two years old, maybe a little younger, when his grandparents bought him the book My Cat Just Sleeps by Joanna Partis. At the time it was a big hit with him, a book that he enjoyed reading with us over and over again. As he grew a little older it was eventually put away in one of his toy boxes. Recently it has resurfaced and is usually found in the hands of our 17 month old cat enthusiast daughter.

My Cat Just Sleeps is a relatively small board book. To be exact, it measures 18.2 x 18 x 1.8cm. In my opinion this is just the right size for an older baby or young toddler to explore, not too big and not too small. The pages are made from thick cardboard and it is a very sturdy book.

This book is available from Amazon through a number of various sellers, however their prices leave little to be believed at £10.50 and even £15.19! The recommended retail price for this book is just £4.99. Amazon do however have this book on sale direct from themselves which appears to be the very same book with an updated cover. This one is priced at £4.13. I presume therefore that this book has been somewhat updated since it was purchased for my son just over a year or so ago.

My Cat Just Sleeps follows the woes of a little girl and her cat. Her friend's cats all seem rather interesting and fun, whereas her cat just sleeps. One by one we are introduced to her friend's cats and told about their interests and what makes them fun. For instance George's cat climbs trees, Harry's cat digs up worms in the garden and Molly's cat plays with the fish in her pond. But this little girl's cat does none of those things, he just sleeps. We are shown illustrations of her friend's cats carrying out these activities and on the following page, the main character encouraging her cat to do the same while her cat blissfully sleeps.

"My cat just sleeps" is used repetitively throughout the book, a technique which is used in many books to enable the young reader to join in and engaging them further in the story.

As the story resolves, the little girl thinks of all of the things that her cat actually does. She realises that actually her cat does lots of things, he is just a little different to her friends' cats. She ponders however over why her cat is always so sleepy. We are then shown in illustrations only with no text just why her cat is so sleepy during the day. As night falls, he climbs off her bed, leaves the house via the cat flap and has a big gathering with all of the neighbourhood cats. The last illustration is spread over two pages and depicts the cat dancing on a wall while lots of other cats look on. I particularly like this illustration because, as a family who have cats, it is easy to pick out cats similar to ours in the picture and to point them out to our children as though our cats are in the book.

There is no mention on this book as to who the illustrator is. Maybe it is Joanna Partis herself. Nonetheless the illustrations throughout are simply fabulous. Each page is filled entirely by the picture, there are no blank spaces left around the edge. This encourages us to explore the illustration in more detail. The bold and bright use of colours makes the illustrations all the more appealing. Each cat is rather childlike and very cute indeed. Each is a different breed or colour, with an endearing expression on their faces and teddy bear-like paws which flail out as they run, jump and play.

As aforementioned my son adored this book for quite a while. He is now three years old and has moved on to the world of fire engines, construction vehicles and factual books about animals and the environment. My daughter is now the main holder of this book. I have mentioned in previous reviews that she is simply cat mad and as she has grown she has become a shadow to our pair of Siamese, letting out an excited squeal and an "Awwww!" whenever one crosses her path. This book engages her interest in all things cat and she will very often pick it up and bring it to myself or her father to read, plonking herself on our laps in readiness.

This book has been very much loved in our household. It has now withstood a small amount of damage, a crease to the front page where it opens and a scuffed spine. This is minimal in comparison to some others however and considering the amount of use it has had over a long period of time, it has in fact fared quite well indeed.

My Cat Just Sleeps is an integral part of my children's vast book collection. It is certainly in the leaders list, along with just a few others in terms of a favourite. I would very much recommend this book for an older baby or younger toddler, a boy or a girl. Both of my children have certainly given it their approval.

ISBN-10: 019279146X
ISBN-13: 978-0192791467