Cats in construction hats

As six cats--each a different color and sporting a hard hat--toil tirelessly at a worksite, snappy rhymes by Bardhan-Quallen (the Purrmaids series) and layered mixed-media images by Hernandez (the Mia Mayhem series) depict the felines as confident in their tasks: "Yellow cat./ Green hat./ Dig this./ Clear that." But readers will quickly notice that the individuals don't really collaborate--each kitty works alone. And that seems to suit everyone just fine, until some concrete columns break loose, wiping out the individuals' progress. Now, it's time to "work together": spreads show the cats forming teams and welcoming help from some equally competent rats to repair the damage and finish the job. The result? An elaborate, mansion-like cat tree, launched via a fancy-dress party. Collaboration stories often depict individuals as hapless until they form a team. These pages supply a fresh twist that spotlights strengths individual and communal, while offering cat and construction aficionados plenty to savor. Ages 3--7. Agent (for author and illustrator): Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Apr.)

Fun-loving, hard-hatted felines romp through difficulties to collaborative triumph. Starting with the blueprint endpapers, this book offers readers plenty to pore over as a kitty crew builds a perfect cat condo. Though the workers wear Day-Glo construction vests, sharp eyes will spot the color of their fur underneath. The cats are organized both by fur and hat color. "Yellow cat. Green hat." "Green cat. Orange hat." The laboring felines add brief commands in speech balloons presented in a sans serif font ("Dig this." "Clear that"), making every four lines a rhythmic, rhyming quatrain. Readers who prefer vehicles to animals will delight in seeing the bulldozers, dump truck, forklift, and hydraulic crane in action. Some workers are more interested in having fun than in getting the job done, like the green cat happily wading in a pool of concrete and the orange cat blithely juggling bricks. This OSHA-ignoring carelessness results in a spectacular accident ("BOOM! CRASH! SPLAT!") and an exclamation ("RATS!")--a reference to the rodents who can be found in every scene. But now cats and rats all "work together," clean up, get dressed up, and celebrate their success with a ribbon cutting. Bright illustrations reminiscent of Richard Scarry's work will stand up to the rereads sure to be requested. A message of determination and cooperation, conveyed with a kid-friendly combo of colors, trucks, and cute kittens.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.