Meet Kitty! Kitty wants to play! Meet Cat. Cat just wants to nap. Bold, whimsical artwork and plenty of humor engage little ones in a sly and stylish introduction to opposites.
KITTY AND CAT: OPPOSITES ATTRACT
by Mirka Hokkanen
Candlewick, April 2023
(via KT Literary)
This deceptively simple concept book introduces readers to grumpy, old, exhausted Cat, who just wants to be left alone, and to happy, new, energetic Kitty, who longs to make friends. In a story told entirely through well-chosen pairs of opposites and drolly expressive artwork, author-illustrator Mirka Hokkanen manages to elevate the humble concept book into a true work of art—one that is bound to have readers giggling and crying for more!
Mirka Hokkanen is an author-illustrator who likes fun, quirky animal characters and dislikes soggy cereal that’s been left in a bowl for too long. She began her career as a fine art printmaker before transitioning to picture book illustration. She is the illustrator of Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book by Vivian Kirkfield and the author-illustrator of the early-reader graphic novel Mossy and Tweed: Crazy for Coconuts. When not holding a paintbrush or a pen, Mirka Hokkanen likes to knit, sew, and explore the outdoors with her three energetic kids. But she dislikes stepping on slugs after rain and getting her socks wet after someone has tracked water in the house. Mirka Hokkanen was born in Finland and has lived all around the world as a military spouse.
Nila and her mom love shopping at the thrift store. But when Nila finds the most perfect, shiny, puffy coat, Mom says no: Nila’s winter coat still fits her just fine. With a lot of determination and some birthday money from Dad, Nila sets out to prove the coat really is perfect–but along the way, learns maybe it’s perfect for someone else. Someone who needs both a coat and a friend.
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents―who frequently leave her behind.
Teddy’s favorite place is Bottomrock Lake, where sunfish swim in their little saucer nests and lilypads edge the shore. She’s worked there as a lifeguard every summer, including last year, when her twin sister Izzy waded into the lake for a midnight swim and never came out. Now, Teddy can’t stop scripting stories for where she went. Izzy was an accomplished swimmer, so she couldn’t possibly have drowned. And if she did somehow drown, where’s her body and why is her passport missing? 
The story has reached it’s happily ever after, the peasant girl has married her prince and become queen, all is well in the kingdom. . . But for Aralyn, the princesses stepsister, the story is only just beginning.