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Reviewed by Carola Crawford, English teacher, Karanga Mai Young Parents’ College, Kaiapoi
Opening sentence
Three small cats begin to mew.
This is a great follow-up to the book Duck Goes Meow. I need to repeat what I said about that book: such a great story on many levels. Wonderful sound patterns: onomatopoeia and rhyme give it a sing-song quality and it has a great sense of the ridiculous about it.

This is a book that absolutely demands to be read out loud. It's also visually pleasing and children will love identifying the animals and reading the emotions portrayed in their facial expressions.

There is a further dimension to How to Be a Cat, in that exclusion and bullying are also touched on. The mother cat quickly allays the duck’s fears when it is made to “feel so small” by reassuring it that “Not all cats are made the same” but “you know just how to be a cat.” The story ends with the duck and kittens snuggling up to the mother cat and the duck purring.
Author & Illustrator: Juliette MacIver, Illustrator: Carla Martell
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN: 9781775438670
Format: Paperback
Publication: April 2024
Ages: Baby upwards
Themes: Being different but still included in the whānau