4stars Mrs. Calamari moves into a new apartment on Monday with her seven cats. The landlord, Mr. Gangplank, told her no cats were allowed and must be gone by Sunday “or something will happen.” Mrs. Calamari begins disguising her cats, which are multiplying by the day. On Wednesday her cous... more

4stars Mrs. Calamari moves into a new apartment on Monday with her seven cats. The landlord, Mr. Gangplank, told her no cats were allowed and must be gone by Sunday “or something will happen.” Mrs. Calamari begins disguising her cats, which are multiplying by the day. On Wednesday her cousins visit, on Thursday her nieces and nephews, and on Friday Mrs. Calamari’s grandchildren arrive. Mrs. Calamari’s aunts and uncles arrive on Saturday and Mr. Gangplank takes everyone to the beach. He wants to celebrate having no cats in his building. All this time he has lost his glasses. Potato is the landlord’s huge dog. Mr.Gangplank claims Potato does not like cats, yet the pooch plays with the cats as if they are long, lost friends. What no one noticed was a sign that said “No Cats Allowed on Beach.” The brawny lifeguard approaches Mr. Gangplank and Mrs. Calamari and demands they get all the cats off his beach. A Mr. Gangplank tells the young man that all of these (cats) are relatives, not Mrs. Calamari’s cats! Mr. Gangplank had warned that if there were cats in his building “something will happen” and on Sunday he keeps his word. The Cats of Mrs. Calamari is a cute story that will delight cat lovers of all ages. Why cats are so disparaged is a mystery, but they are and Mrs. Calamari deals with the problem creatively. The illustrations are wonderfully accurate and most often quite funny. Each page has two frames, both of which would make a marvelous poster. This short book really begs for a sequel. Maybe the next can be about what happens after Mr. Gangplank follows through on his threat. On Sunday, something did happen, because of Mrs. Calamari’s cats being in the building. I would love to find out what happened next. Note: received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher