83 Books Like Kat Kong

I recommended this book first because as a public school Library Media Specialist for over thirty years it was my perfect go-to read-a-loud. 

It is funny and filled with human interest and emotion. But what I like best about it is the timing. I like to write funny books and I know timing in humor is one of the most important attributes. This book hits it dead-on.

Adding to the wonderful timing is the pagination. Having published a few funny picture books myself I know how important the page-turner is for children.

The author Banard Weber will open a situation and then, as a pagination cliffhanger, place the resolution on the following page. Then he ends the story with a sweet repose.

This book also has incredible timing.

The secret to a great read-a-loud book that children will sit still for is to keep them engaged. Reynolds is a master at timing. He builds the suspense slowly, while keeping up dashes of scary/humor. It is scary, but not too scary.

Owing to the humor and cleaver illustrations by Peter Brown. Creepy Pair of Underwear is part of a New York Times best-selling series by Reynolds and Brown and I always look forward to their next installment.

I choose my fifth recommendation, Dairy of a Worm for its creative parody of both diary writing and insect life.

The main character of a worm, describing his parents, home life, and school life from a ground-level perspective is hilarious and cute.

The illustrations by Harry Bliss masterfully show the world through the tiny perspective of insects. Giant girls playing jump rope are a terror. And Worm's best friend Spider, is wonderful as an off-shoot side-kick.

In my library I would often follow up the story with a discussion on how life can be viewed from many different perspectives. And I can think of no better spring-board for just such discussion, than Diary of a Worm.

Like my previous choices David Shannon’s picture book Good Boy Fergus is built around his excellent timing for humor.

But Shannon’s greatest gift is his ability to convey not only humor, but heart, in his illustrations. Children will love Fergus, a tough and tumble Scottish terrier whose big sweet eyes excuse him from any misbehavior.

Fergus is funny, lovable and like Shannon’s most popular series No David he makes mistakes that children can easily relate to and forgive.

I choose “Fergus” over “David” because I feel some of David’s escapades may be a bit too over the top for young readers. While Fergus, who happens to be a dog, models only “Bad Dog” behavior.

I Am an Artist takes the idea of making art everywhere and out of everything to the extreme–with hilarious results.

Altés’ protagonist goes above and beyond (literally) in his efforts to create, but sometimes the creative chaos goes a little too far for his mother’s liking (although the cat doesn’t seem to mind). Of course, he knows exactly what to do to make his mom happy: more art! If you’re anything like me, your creative juices will definitely be overflowing after reading this one.

A lifelong cat person, I was drawn to Betsy Lewin’s light-hearted illustrations and lilting rhyme featuring an orange tabby.

It starts, “Everyone knows where Tippy Toes is/ when the sun is up and the day is his.” The next spread shows a mouse’s view of a paw through its hole followed by one from the cat’s viewpoint showing the mouse’s tail through its hole. More clever cutouts add to the fun as we follow Tippy Toe through an adventure with a garden hose, a nap in a drawer, and a dash through a blueberry pie.

The final text reads, “No, nobody knows where Tippy Toes creeps/ when darkness falls and the whole world sleeps…”. The last page turn reveals the cat curled up under his boy’s covers, finishing “…except me.”

Poor Nat the Cat just wants to take a nap, but the intrusive narrator won’t let him. The incongruity of the narrator’s words and Nat’s actions pack a comedic punch on every page, just as the brilliant See the Cat and See the Dog books do.

Lerner managed to create this gem with few words and sparse illustrations, which is incredibly difficult. And good news—the Nat the Cat books are now a series. 

As I am of Bosnian heritage, I always love reading books about my culture.

The name Amra is very common in Bosnia and yet is very uncommon everywhere else, so it was a particular thrill for me to read a book by another Amra. This memoir is about Amra's experiences living under siege in Bihac during the Balkan War of 1992-1995 which gives an amazing insight into the hardship and heartbreak of war.

Maci, the cat that Amra and her family adopted who arrived at their town as a refugee, was such a beautiful soul and helped give Amra hope and fight for life, when it seemed that none was to be found.

The writing was beautiful and evocative. I keep seeing Maci in my mind's eye. I also have to say that the cover was absolutely stunning, and I loved the use of the image in the novel to… show more.

Everyone I love who’s seen my shelf knows how much I love this picture book. I adore the simple ink drawings; it’s all I need to understand to story.

I never expected a 32-page book to break me like this. It makes me want to hug my cat Marlie and never let go (to her annoyance). To me, it explained life and death so perfectly—when one goes away, another comes into our lives.

While growing up, superheroes were a significant part of my life – from TV’s Mighty Mouse as a young child to my elementary school years when comic books featuring Superman and Spider-Man took over.

I’m sure I would’ve been more invested in reading books at an earlier age if these “super” characters were featured in them.

With bright-and-bold illustrations and goofy pun-filled speech bubbles, this hilarious action-packed misadventure depicts how Max Meow acquires his powers (including a tail that shoots electric bolts), and combines forces with Mindy Microbe (scientist extraordinaire), to track down a magical space meatball.

When Max temporarily loses his superpowers, he learns that “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero.” Good advice for children of all ages.