Ziva the great

A cat with a difficult past bonds with a traumatized girl in Vanous' picture book. Ziva is a Maine coon cat who lives with the Freedmans. It's unclear what happened before she arrived there, because although she's sweet and calm with them, she finds strangers upsetting: "Ziva would leap like lightning. Claws out. Eyes blazing. Like she was guarding something only she could see." One day, Elsie arrives to stay with the Freedmans. (All the humans are depicted with pale skin.) Again, it's unclear what transpired, but the girl looks sad and doesn't smile or speak. Ziva doesn't hiss at Elsie, but sits quietly nearby, observing her. Elsie sleeps and the cat slumbers at the foot of her bed--and in the morning, Ziva purrs when the youngster greets her. Eventually, they become friends. Gerstner's watercolor-style illustrations are well-executed and show a wonderful range of realistic cat expressions. The story is reminiscent of Chandra Ghosh Ippen'sArgo & Me(2022), illustrated by Erich Ippen Jr., in which a child placed in foster care bonds with an animal-shelter dog, but here, neither Elsie nor Ziva has a backstory. Some readers may find this frustrating, but leaving these open to interpretation may effectively allow many young people to see themselves in Elsie's situation. A sweet, well-illustrated story about experiencing love and trust again after upheaval. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.