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Summary
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling creators of Library Lion comes a warm (and delightfully fuzzy) storybook about learning to be--and be loved for--exactly who you are.
On a street of old houses, a big hairy spider is searching for a home with dark corners to hide in. But when he wakes up, he finds a hand reaching for him and a lady proclaiming that she has always wanted a kitten--and will name him Luigi! At first, a somewhat puzzled Luigi, used to being left alone to creep and dangle and spin webs, resists her kind advances. But soon, tasty breakfasts and getting tucked into bed (no one's ever wished him good night before) have him thinking that kittens surely live magical lives. I will be a kitten! he decides. But how long can he keep up his facade, and what might be at stake in pretending to be someone you're not? The award-winning duo behind Library Lion delivers another classic in the making, marked by humor and depth, endearing characters, and the assurance that the right people will accept and adore us, unconditionally, just as we are.
Author Notes
Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times best-selling author of Library Lion , illustrated by Kevin Hawkes; Argus , illustrated by Andréa Wesson; Big Mean Mike , illustrated by Scott Magoon; and Marilyn's Monster , illustrated by Matt Phelan, as well as the Trelian middle-grade fantasy trilogy and the Evil Librarian YA horror-comedy trilogy. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is terrified of spiders.
Kevin Hawkes is the award-winning illustrator of more than fifty acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times best-selling Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, Me, All Alone at the End of the World by M. T. Anderson, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky, and Sidewalk Circus and Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. He is also the acclaimed author-illustrator of both picture books and chapter books. Kevin Hawkes lives in Maine.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This quirky be-yourself tale by the team behind Library Lion starts out as broad comedy, as a "big, hairy spider" takes up residence in an old house, where a pale-skinned, silver-haired lady greets him with delight ("It feels like a kitten! I have always wanted a kitten"), names him Luigi, and gives him a cat toy as well as a tiny box to sleep in ("He had never known that kittens led such magical lives"). If his host loves him as a kitten, Luigi resolves to comport himself thusly, and softly shadowed acrylic and pencil art by Hawkes deftly renders furry Luigi as remarkably kitten-like. Then the woman's friends come for a game night; after she introduces Luigi, and he knocks himself out acting like a feline, his real identity is soon revealed by the group. Luigi's anguish lasts until a heart-to-heart clarifies the situation. Though her masquerade's motive doesn't quite persuade ("I already knew you were a spider. I just never said anything because you were having so much fun pretending to be a kitten"), the woman's pledge of unconditional love assuages Luigi's doubts in this emotional roller coaster of a story. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Mar.)
Kirkus Review
After a spider is mistaken for a kitten, he attempts to keep up the ruse. "A big, hairy spider" moves into an old house sure to contain appropriately dark nooks. He weaves a web under a sofa, but homeowner Betty finds him, decides he's an adorable kitten, and names him Luigi. As Betty plays with the spider and prepares a special bed for him, he warms to the idea of being Luigi the kitten; kittens seem to lead "magical lives." He starts fearing that Betty will realize her mistake and banish him, so he does his best to be as felinelike as possible. But when the secret's revealed, Betty reassures Luigi that she knew he was a spider all along and thought he was only having "fun pretending to be a kitten," and the pair live companionably ever after. While the sentiment--find someone who will "like you for who you really are"--is timeless, the complicated charade, where each character pretends for the other, is convoluted, and the message is somewhat hidden within the protracted text. Perhaps the most polarizing factor will be Luigi himself. Hawkes has made the spider look really, well, spidery. There's whimsy when Luigi is mimicking a kitten, but his lightly anthropomorphized form is going to be too creepily arachnid for some. The muted, dusty colors in acrylics and pencil don't provide much warmth, though they do add spidery ambience. Betty presents white. A good-hearted, if slightly unsettling, tale of unlikely pals. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After sneaking under a sofa, a spider is startled to be scooped up by a kindly older woman who mistakes him for a kitten, christening him "Luigi." The understandably confused spider is confident that he is not a kitten but figures there's no harm in pretending. As Luigi settles in, darling scenes see the unusual pair contentedly watching television together or tucking into their respective beds. When the woman invites friends over to show off her new pet, the charade falls flat, and Luigi is terrified that his person won't want him now that he has been identified as a scary spider. Not to worry: she knew who he was all along and adores him just the way he is. The silly, sweet story is packed with humor and marvelous minutiae, and the lovely acrylic-and-pencil illustrations capture adorable arachnid antics while offering a great sense of scale from a tiny point of view. A marvelous message of unconditional acceptance sure to make an arachnid ally out of any young reader.
