Carrot by Vanita Oelschlager Illustrated by Kristin Blackwood

Release Date: May 2nd 2012

Carrot the cat has a pretty good life. She lives in a house that's not too big and not too small, she gets to nap the day away, and chase mice up and down streets but also ends up helping a mouse recovering from the flu.

One day she sees this cat on a boat but not just any boat - a yacht. She starts imagining what life would be like as this beautiful and rich cat. Infinite amounts of comfort, food, and grooming. Doesn't sound too bad but really what would her family do without her and is that life really worth it?

Okay. This was my first review of a picture book in a long time. As you know I've decided to read more picture books so here's the first in what I hope to be many. So far so good.

I love cats even though they do tend to break my heart. I've raised a kitten before and you can't believe the quirks you notice on a cat that you raised. So of course I wanted to read this book and especially with all the hilarious cat photos cropping up all over the place I felt like reading a book about cats. 

Maybe it's just me but the rhymes felt not as natural as I would have liked. I think it's just because it's a new author and I'm pretty new at reviewing picture books. It was a nice tale about loving where you are and who you are but it didn't make me jump for joy at how amazing it was.

The illustrations were pretty unique in that it looked like the pictures were cut out and pasted to make a 3-D effect without it actually being a pop-up book. It was a nice effect but the pictures were all right. I rather have had the colors encompass the whole page though. I don't want a patch of white on my picture book. It was still a nice read and according to the back of the book the net profits of the book will go to charitable organizations including  the author's husbands disease - multiple sclerosis which is a truly great thing and I commend the author on doing that. Also she has her own publishing - VanitaBooks so she's indie! A great thing to be.