Graphic Novel Review: Katie the Catsitter written by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yu, colors by Braden Lamb

Posted on November 17, 2020 at 10:32 am by Gene Ambaum

Katie the Catsitter written by Colleen AF Venable, illustrated by Stephanie Yu, colors by Braden Lamb. Random House Children’s Books, 2021. 9781984895639. 206pp of story plus amazing introductions to Venable and Yu at the end of the book.

Katie is looking for ways to earn money so that she can attend an expensive summer camp with her friends. She advertises that she’s available to do jobs in her building, but nothing works out until her neighbor, Ms. Lang, asks her to start cat sitting. It’s a great gig, but there are 217 super smart cats with amazing skills (hacker, seamstress, artist, etc.) in her apartment, and cats aren’t allowed in the building. (On the upside none of them uses a litter box, and though they’re messy they do take care of their messes.) Katie begins to suspect that Ms. Lang is secretly the masked villain (or is she a hero?) known as The Mousetress, who seems to be targeting people and businesses that are mistreating animals. There’s a bit of mystery as Katie looks into that, and a bit of sadness as she and her friend Bethany, who is away at camp, grow apart. The whole adventure ends in a daring rescue. At the heart of the book: friendship, animal welfare, and a lot of humor.

Worth noting: Venable’s and Yu’s biographies at the end of the book are the best ever! Real life pets! Adventure photos! And there are illustrations from the top secret files about the cats.