The eponymous feline is "hiding somewhere in this book," relays a frantic child, portrayed with light skin and brown pigtails. "Will you turn the pages and help me look?" In dimensional construction paper cutouts decorated with marker and pen, the child enumerates a set of the missing cat's characteristics on each verso page ("Mister Kitty has 5 yellow spots") and holds up the appropriate number of fingers. The recto shows those colors within die-cut shapes ("Do you see five yellow spots?") as the child's trusty black and white dog barks out the number. But much to the consternation of the seeking duo, a page turn reveals a species that's very different from Mister Kitty--in the case of the spots, it's five slithery yellow snakes. The countdown and startling reveals continue until the child reaches "one pink nose," at which point Pizzoli (the Jack books) has one more trick up his sleeve: the nose does indeed belong to the beloved Mister Kitty, who turns out to take a slightly different form than readers may have expected. The blend of gentle meta humor and interactivity has "preschooler" written all over it. Ages up to 3. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)

When a little girl's cat goes missing, she makes up a poster with his face on it and, accompanied by her Snoopy look-alike dog, asks readers for their help in locating the kitty, who is hiding somewhere within the pages. Pizzoli's book for very young children incorporates die cuts, which lead readers to turn the page and offer surprises along the way. The bright, colorful artwork, which uses simple shapes that are sure to entice the youngest readers, was created using cut construction paper and paint pens. Beginning with "Mister Kitty has 5 yellow spots," the girl asks readers if they can find (and count) the five die cuts with the color yellow showing through. When the page is turned, it doesn't reveal Mister Kitty, but rather five yellow snakes. This concept book introduces youngsters to colors while counting down from five and leading them at last to Mister Kitty. A concluding page shows the girl and her "kitty" and reiterates the hints from 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, with each sentence written in the appropriate color. And while Mister Kitty may be found, someone else is now missing. Here is an entertaining and engaging read-aloud for one-on-one or small-group sharing.

Readers help search for Mister Kitty. A distressed youngster, with brown pigtails and light skin, is looking for Mister Kitty. "He is hiding somewhere inside this book," the tot explains. "Will you turn the pages and help me look?" A black-and-white dog is also there to help search. "Mister Kitty has 5 yellow spots." On the opposing page, the dog barks excitedly at five cutout circles. "Do you see five yellow spots?" But a dramatic page turn reveals those spots are not Mister Kitty; they are five yellow snakes! Oh no! Mister Kitty also has orange paws. The dog barks at four orange paw-print cutouts--surely Mister Kitty has been found now. But no, those belong to four orange monkeys! The silly countdown continues, with different colors and different shapes, until there is one triangular pink nose left. Does it, finally, belong to Mister Kitty? The dog is the comedic foil of the work, eagerly finding the shapes but growing more scared at each reveal. The final pink nose spread shows the dog despondent and almost too afraid to look. A quirky twist at the end is the biggest surprise of all. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Simple and delightful. A preschool crowd pleaser. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this funny and satisfying story for the very young, a little girl asks readers, "Have you seen Mister Kitty? He is hiding somewhere inside this book." We are asked to look for him, but whenever we see what appears to be one of Mister Kitty's attributes ("5 yellow spots," "2 green eyes"), a page-turn reveals what the die-cuts were actually hiding (five yellow snakes, two green crocodiles). Each reveal startles the girl's initially trusting dog, who humorously frowns, covers its eyes, or cowers behind the girl's legs. When Mister Kitty is finally found, his identity is a surprise that upends all our expectations ("ROAR!") -- and scares the dog off completely. The book's structure is simple but effective, as left-hand pages use a different, single background color while right-hand pages are white, allowing the die-cut colors to pop. When Mister Kitty is found, the pattern changes to a full-bleed double-page spread incorporating all five colors for the happy reunion. "Let's go home, Mister Kitty!" Martha V. ParravanoJanuary/February 2023 p.64 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.