President Barack Obama visited Marquette in February, and he bought this book for his daughters when he stopped for lunch at Donckers Restaurant. According to the web site for Preston Hill Press, the second is currently going to print. I would like to note that this is the first book in a planned series of four. The intended audience is going to love these stories because kids have similar experiences as they explore the world around them. Some of the adventures are a bit of a stretch of the imagination when one considers these are house-cats – I don’t know any cat who would go swimming – but that’s okay. There’s also a glossary for words the child might not know. I can easily see this book as one for a young elementary student to take home and have his or her parent read a chapter every evening before bed. This format is great, especially if you’re looking for a short story to read. It’s a bit reminiscent of books like Frog and Toad. The book is broken into chapters, each with a different tale of the mischief Boonie and River get into.

My favorite might be the one where River falls out of an apple tree onto the dog he was hiding from, as Boonie cowers and covers his eyes in another tree. They go very well with the stories of the two cats and their adventures. The illustrations by Karin Neumann are lovely, and made me chuckle at times. They meet one summer day when their mistresses enter them in a pet parade, become friends, and have all sorts of adventures together. Synopsis: Boonie and River are two cats that live on Valley Road. Typical reader: Aimed at upper elementary students but great as a bedtime reader for younger students cat-lovers are going to enjoy this too.

Valley Cats by Gretchen Preston