Official Review: Four Kittens in the Bathroom by DL Sevic

[Juliana_Isabella]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Four Kittens in the Bathroom" by DL Sevic.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Four Kittens in the Bathroom by D.L. Sevic is a children’s chapter book about the author’s experience with raising kittens of feral cats. The author noticed that many cats were being abandoned in his neighborhood, and his wife started feeding the stray cats that would wander into their yard. After a while, they saw that one of the cats was pregnant, and they began taking special care of her. It wasn’t long after her litter was born that the mama and one of her babies were clearly pregnant, and Sevic began wondering how many cats might end up in his backyard if he didn’t do something. Sevic and his wife decided to reach out to local charities and shelters for help, and soon realized that they would have to catch the cats to get them fixed and to find homes for the kittens.

I enjoyed the way the author walked the reader through his experience, starting with him and his wife realizing that the number of stray cats in their yard was multiplying. The book also includes cute illustrations of the different cats with captions containing their names, and I could imagine a child sounding out the names while a parent read the book aloud.

One issue I found with the book was that the story and the writing didn’t seem to appeal to the same audience. The story seems like it would be suitable for young kids, who would enjoy hearing about kittens playing and people watching them. However, the writing is more appropriate for older kids who can read short chapter books on their own. I feel like the author could have pared down the story and made it into a picture book since there was a lot of unnecessary information included. This would make it more suitable for younger kids and would help children maintain interest in the story.

Overall, I would rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the cute story and illustrations, but it felt too long for the target audience, and I found many errors, making me believe that the book was not professionally edited.

I would recommend this book to parents of children ages four to seven if you want a story to read out loud. If you would rather find a book for your child to read by themselves, this book would be more suitable for ages seven to nine. If your kid enjoys true stories that involve animals, they might like this book.

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Four Kittens in the Bathroom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[fadjei]

I agree with you on condensing this story. Books targeted for younger children tend to be shorter, because it's easier to follow. Based on your description, it sounds like the length of the book does not fit with the targeted audience.
Thanks for the review!

[BellaGBear]

Great breakthrough of the book! Would you think it is suitable for adults who love to look at cute pictures of kittens?

[Miraphery]

Children love books with illustrations, they would enjoy this though the length may pose a problem. Nice job.

[kdstrack]

I like your recommendation of this book for a little older audience, even though the kittens would appeal to a younger crowd, too. It's interesting that the author bases it on his personal experience. I wonder what it was like trying to catch those feral cats! Great review.

[Adina Lutinger]

The idea of the book seems adorable. It's a pity that the writing isn't suitable for the audience. Thanks for the great review!

[Diana Lowery]

I was captivated by the title. After reading your review, I must agree that the targeted audience is off a bit. Besides the words and the illustrations, I would think the whole concept of reproduction would have to be addressed when reading this to a child.