PreS-Gr 3--There are many ways to say "Hello," and "Meow" is one of them, but then, "Meow" has many meanings. Marigold is an irresistible ginger cat with a spotted belly, green eyes, and downy cream paws. She has a special bond with a little girl with brown skin and black hair puffs. When she jumps up on the writing table with a "Meow," the girl promptly places Marigold back on the ground. Walking around the corner, Marigold pounces on a ray of sunshine and finds it is a great place for sunbathing. Soon her cat nap is disturbed--"Mm-eee-eee-ow!"--when the little girl accidentally steps on her tail. Like a cat on hot bricks, Marigold runs off and hides under a bed. The little girl sweetly says she is sorry and earns Marigold's forgiveness. Raschka (A Ball for Daisy) arranges the action in graphic novel sequences with moment-to-moment panels and spreads that create smooth transitions between the poignant scenes. The loose watercolor illustrations provide visual cues to the meaning of the floating text that depicts meow sounds varying in length and signifying friendship, hurt, forgiveness, and love. VERDICT Expressive and engaging, this picture book is the cat's meow. A warm portrayal of kids and furry friends that introduces young children to phonics, emotions, and active listening.--Rita Baguio Christensen

An orange-gold cat with green eyes named Marigold explores a house and playfully interacts with her owner until, distracted, the little girl steps on Marigold's tail, turning her "meow" into a "me-OW!" and causing her to hide under the bed. But cats are cats, and eventually she comes back out to purr and play and, of course, be petted. This almost wordless picture book--although the handful of wordplay that is included is clever--is done in a mix of graphic novel panels and full-page spreads, almost as a feline response to Raschka's celebrated dog mini-adventure A Ball for Daisy (2011). His watercolor style has evolved over the years but is still recognizably his, with wide liquid strokes, bright color, and fluid, slightly off-kilter images. There isn't much substance to the tale, but the simple story nevertheless moves along at a quick pace, and the cat is so unmistakably catlike in its behavior and attitude that cat owners will find a few additional chuckles between the pages.

Raschka (The Blue Table) chronicles a search for intimacy from a cat's point of view. In his distinctive watercolor style, he sculpts the feline's furry contours in buttery gold, giving it green eyes, nodding whiskers, and huge paws. The cat sighs happily as a hand reaches down to ruffle its fur, then the attention ends as a red shoe walks away. "Meow?" the cat inquires, in the first of a string of utterances that vary the titular phrase. In an attempt to win back human attention, the cat leaps onto a table where a brown-skinned child is writing, landing squarely in the middle of the paper before being tossed back on the floor. Later, it's the cat's turn to take offense ("mm eee eee ow!") as the child treads on its tail by accident; subsequent reconciliation takes time. These home-movie moments entertain, but there's deeper significance, too, in the way they echo individuals' attention-seeking and -avoiding behaviors in fits and starts. The delicate balancing act between loving, wanting to be loved, and yearning for independence resolves in a tender rom-com ending between child and cat. Ages 4--8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (May)