Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog - Hardcover

Jeanne Willis is one of the most successful children's picture book authors. She also writes for television and video companies, and has two children. Tony Ross has been highly acclaimed and is in great demand as a children's book illustrator. His books are published all over the world. He lives in Nottingham.

Kindergarten-Grade 2—Longtime friends Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog have fallen into comfortable, lazy routines, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. When they can no longer fit on their couch, they ignore what is happening to them. And when they outgrow their house, they tell themselves that it has shrunk. They set off to find their "distant relatives," a tiger and a wolf, in hopes of living with them. The pair walks hither and yon, through cities and fields, to no avail, and food is scarce. Returning home, they spy their sleek new selves in a mirror: "For the first time in a long time, they felt really comfortable with who they were." Ross's watercolor and line cartoons depict the animals growing larger and larger, with clothes straining over their stomachs and food covering most surfaces in their home. However, the pictures may prove confusing as they are at odds with the text ("the cushions almost filled the room," etc.), and children may not understand the pair's underlying problem, and that they have slimmed down because they have gotten more exercise.—Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ END