Review by Booklist Review
Poor Doodle Cat has plenty of energy and not much direction. No one is around. No one comes to address his loud proclamations of boredom. Forced to entertain himself, he notices a random crayon on the floor. Wondering about its purpose, he attempts using it to eat soup, to dance, to dig. When the crayon finally announces, "I'm for doodling," Doodle Cat's creativity is launched. Colors, images, and ideas begin to burst forth as the cat contemplates a multitude of possibilities. Imaginative, somewhat absurd drawings come pouring out as Doodle Cat scribbles. Surfing on a wave of farts with a wizard named Susan? Creating a swirl of spaghetti (that turns out to be a feline pasta called Uncle Noodle Cat)? Partying with pangolins (scaly anteaters)? No longer bored, Doodle Cat creates silly, colorful drawings, as well as more-complicated two-page spreads. Black line illustrations transition to full color, then end with simple red lines as the cat extends the crayon, offering it to the reader with an invitation to join in. A fun testament to creative possibility.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Nobody seems to care that Doodle Cat is bored. The relatable anguish of this feeling is palpable as the red cat stands in the spotlight all alone. Dejected and forlorn, Doodle Cat finds a mysterious object that readers will identify as a crayon. Is it to eat soup with? Can you dig or dance with it? Doodle Cat discovers it is for doodling, and boredom is no more. Expressive and emotive, Patrick's simple ink, crayon, and acrylic illustrations capture the big feelings so many children face, acted out by a cat who seems to be more comfortable on two legs than four. Doodle Cat's illustrations of himself surfing on the wave of farts, pangolin parties, and Noodle Cat spaghetti remain uproariously funny on multiple readings. Doodling to exhaustion, the cat invites readers in: "What will you draw?" VERDICT A great addition for early literacy story times, but even older readers will enjoy Doodle Cat's imagination, antics, and silly humor.--Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Lib., OR
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A cat is excruciatingly bored. Doodle Cat, drawn as a red, cat-shaped silhouette with frantic eyes and sharp whiskers its only markings, sits on a blank white page. "I AM BORED," says Doodle Cat. The next two pages have plain, matte-black backgrounds, and Doodle Cat stands (upright like a human) in a yellow spotlight. "EXCUSE ME EVERYONE I AM BORED! / HALLO?" This is no low-energy boredom; it's desperate, bug-eyed, shrieking boredom. Suddenly, a crayon appears on the floor. Doodle Cat squints in suspicion, tries to eat soup with it, dances with it, and hears the crayon say, "I'm for doodling." Aha! Doodle Cat, ever self-focused, nabs credit for that revelation (though if the concept of doodling is so new, why did the character self-identify as "Doodle Cat" all along?) and has a brain explosion that Farrell illustrates in a full-bleed spread of chunky psychedelic designs. The arc is now about drawing (it's called doodling, but much of it is more deliberate than that). The breathless pace and forced brashness--two separate, explicitly bum-focused pages ("Here's my bum") plus Doodle Cat "surfing through time and space on a wave of farts with Wizard Susan," an unexplained White human who never appears before or after--make every page seem like a new bid for readers' attention. There's not much substance or cohesion here, but it may work to corral--briefly--little ones who won't stop running around. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
