Staff Writer: Kathleen
Published Date: September 2, 2025
Number of pages: 48 pages
Format: Physical book
Genre: Children’s
Tags: Picture Book, Cats, Emotions, Female Author, POC Illustrator, Debut
Cardigan rating: 5 out of 5
Well, now I regret giving any other picture book 5 cardigans, because this one is perfect. Cats inherently show their feelings with their tails, so what better animal to help children learn about their emotions? Fong takes it to another level with Shibu, fluffing up his tail to multiple times his size, making it into dramatic shapes, even splitting it into two tails in one small illustration. His method of using ink makes the fur ultra-realistic and plush-looking, like Shibu and the other cats are going to jump right off of the page, which I really love. I also really enjoy the varied shapes of the other cats, even if they’re mostly various ball shapes- but to be totally fair, a lot of cats are also ball-shaped, so that’s also awfully realistic! Back to the emotions, though. I really appreciate the lesson being not to bottle up your feelings, and how Shibu expressing his feelings helps his friends to do the same. As someone who has always struggled with wearing my heart on my sleeve (and my feelings on my face), that’s something that got me made fun of as a kid all the way through to adulthood, and seeing it encouraged in kids now makes me think hey, maybe the kids are gonna be alright.