Perfect Cat-Sitter Book

When Rana's family has to leave for India, Susan promises to look after their pets. She just knows she'll make the perfect cat-sitter. But things don't go exactly according to plan: Tiger the cat gets sick, a deer gets stuck in the Christmas lights, and her friend Richard gets hurt trying to help her! And then Tiger goes missing. How is Susan ever going to get things right?

Children's Literature

Susan likes to help and considers herself a very capable person. When Rana's family must leave for India, she takes on the responsibility of taking care of the family pets. Susan soon learns that there is no such thing as perfect. Mistakes are normal and they can help you grow. This is a very sweet story about learning that mistakes are a part of life. This book functions in a safe environment where adults are both caring and capable. The children are healthy, exacting souls who live securely in their daily environment of home and school. The central conflict of the story is Susan's belief that she is perfect. This is, however, untrue. No one is perfect and Susan learns this through the many difficulties that arise from taking care of a neighbor's pets. This book also carefully illustrates the importance of responsibility, but the stakes and the consequences are not life-threatening. The only "violence" in the book is when a secondary character falls out of a tree attempting to take Christmas lights off of a deer's antlers. The child reader is subsequently informed that this is a dangerous thing to do and that they should refrain from approaching a wild animal. The child reader is also shown, with realistic detail, the not so pleasant results of feeding a cat the wrong kind of food. This is a safe and reassuring book about growing through our mistakes. Reviewer: Monserrat Urena