Cone Cat

Full disclosure, I’m a cat person, so seeing Carmen Mok’s illustration of a very unhappy kitty on the front cover of Cone Cat made me want to open the book and read about this poor wee kitty immediately.

Author Sarah Howden and illustrator Carmen Mok have teamed up to tell the tale of Jeremy when he finds himself wearing the infamous cone of shame.

Told with a great sense of humour in both the words and the illustrations, Cone Cat will appeal to pet owners young and old(er).

But nothing can shake his feline funk. Until a change landed right in his lap. Well, his cone.

The illustrations show a full range of emotions on poor Jeremy as he discovers all the things he is not able to do while wearing the cone. His struggles to remove the cone are classic, and his expressions of happiness when he is licking his private parts clean before and after the cone are perfect. It is obvious that both Howden and Mok are dedicated cat owners.

The story ends with Jeremy celebrating the removal of the Cone a bit too exuberantly. Turn the last page to find not just the publication information but also a picture of Jeremy with his paw bandaged and the Cone back in place.

The back cover sums it up. “It’s a cat-astrophe!”

Cone Cat is not preachy in any way, but it could lead to some interesting conversations about how not everything that seems bad has to be bad. Young children may want to know why a cat would get a cone. Be prepared.

Have fun sharing this picture book with young pet-owners or pet-lovers. Cone Cat is a delight.