Training Tallulah

October 21, 2013
British illustrator Reeve (My Friend Fred) makes her debut as an author with an unusual tale of new pets and role reversals. The book opens as a standard getting-to-know-you story as a girl named Tallulah tries to help her skittish new cat, Tom, feel at home—she leaves him a small saucer of milk, makes him a toy, and helps him learn the lay of the land. Tom appreciates her efforts and decides that “since Tallulah seemed to be so good at Cat, he should try to learn Human.” Notebook in paw, Tom observes Tallulah’s every move, learning how to dress, brush his teeth, and eat breakfast just like her. As Tom becomes increasingly human in his behavior, Talullah embraces her inner cat. Reeve’s mixed-media illustrations capably amplify the humor of the premise (Tallulah is shown sleeping in Tom’s old cardboard box while he gets the bed), but the wrap-up misfires. The strange Single White Female turn the book takes at the end is likely to both catch readers by surprise and leave them scratching their heads. Ages 4–8.

October 15, 2013
If a human can be very good at understanding Cat, how about the other way round? "When Tom met Tallulah he was extremely shy--too shy to even come out of his box." Tallulah knows what to do. She gives him a saucer of milk and a tour of the house (map of great places to catnap included). She shows him his cat door and makes him a toy. She is so good at understanding him, Tom wants to "learn Human." He studies what she does and takes notes. When Tom perfects being a human, he finds Tallulah needs training to be a better cat. With patience she comes along nicely. That's when he takes her to the pet shop to exchange her for a puppy. British illustrator Reeve's solo effort, published under the title When Tom Met Tallulah in her native country in 2013, is a bit odd. The illustrations are charmingly silly, but the story baffles. The title page reads "Tom and Tallulah are not exactly best friends right now...." It's hard to know whether that's before she brings him home in that box or if it follows his training her to be a dog, which is what appears to be happening in the final illustration despite his having exchanged her at the pet shop. This may satisfy absurdist kitty fans but leave others scratching their heads. (Picture book. 3-7)

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January 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Tallulah woos her shy new kitten, Tom, with patience and considerate acts, such as creating a map to the best catnap spots and demonstrating how to use the pet door. Tom soon relaxes into home life and begins to expertly copy human behavior. He quietly observes, then masters, teeth brushing and fashion, but despairs that Tallulah's continued attempts to be a cat are less successful. He boxes her up in the crate from whence he came and returns her to the pet shop, asking for a puppy. Tables turn yet again when readers see Tallulah take on the role of dog, gnawing a bone on the sofa as Tom reads a puppy training manual. Reeve's mixed-media art brings festive colors and homey details to this chuckle-worthy tale for cat lovers.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2013
Preschool-G Tables turn, big time, in this zany tale about a cat who trains his little girl owner. This starts off conventionally enough as a girl-meets-kitten story, with only the tips of the kitten's ear visible over the side of a cardboard box at first. Tallulah lures the kitten out of the box with a saucer of milk and diligently shows him the ins and outs of his new home. Training includes Tallulah sticking her own head through the cat door as an example and drawing a catnap map. Just when things seem to have settled into a routine, Tom the cat decides that since he's been so well trained, maybe he could train Tallulah. Stage Two veers into the surreal, as Tom spies on Tallulah and uses a plastic fish and the old cardboard box to help the little girl act like a cat. Bright illustrations throughout wonderfully capture Tom's expressions. The near sci-fi bent of the last part of the book may disturb some young readers, but you can't deny that its weirdness is pretty darn fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Little girl Tallulah teaches her kitten, Tom, the lay of the house--milk bowl, comfy nap spots, and the pet door. The pairs' relationship soon flip-flops: "since Tallulah seemed to be so good at Cat, he should try to learn Human." The silly narrative, illustrated with cozy mixed-media pictures, continues the zany arc when Tom heads to the pet store for a puppy.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)