Although, the main character is a cat, young readers are pulled into the large imagery displayed on each page while also reading about themes of exploration and learning new things in a new environment. ( )

Although, the main character is a cat, young readers are pulled into the large imagery displayed on each page while also reading about themes of exploration and learning new things in a new environment. ( )

Margaret Wise Brown is one of those authors who wrote dozens of books over the course of my grandmother's childhood into the early years of my mother's. Her books are still popular and in print, especially Goodnight Moon. And yet, with her being one of the classics of American picture books, I've pretty much only read her as an adult. The one exception is The Color Kittens which was one of my mother's books, and I read it dozens of times as a child.

In the case of Sneakers, the Seaside Cat, the book was first published three years after Brown's death and re-issued again thirty years later (1985) and most recently in 2003. It was until the most recent publication with new illustrations by Anne Mortimer. And it was her jaunty portrait of a young tuxedo cat on the cover that caught my attention.

Now I've had cats all my life — all different types. Most of my adulthood my pet was a calico who wasn't exactly a "normal" cat but she was mine and we understood each other. And she was close to my kids. When she died in February, we needed a new a companion for Tortuga, our bottle baby tuxedo.

The cat who picked us was a half Siamese tuxedo, named Salmon. So now with two tuxedo cats, my daughter's love of cat picture books has turned from anything with a calico to anything with a tuxedo. Thus, Sneakers, the Seaside Cat is suddenly on her radar.

So Sneakers is having his first trip to the seaside. Now I've not personally taken a cat to the beach, but there are cats who live on ships and others who do live near the sea (take for instance Tashirojima, Japan). Sneakers ends up meeting the various sea life and learning about the nature around him.

It's truly an adorable book and perfect for children who love the beach or have cats. Or both! ( )

This story is about a cat who went with his family to the beach. He explored the whole beach, and followed around lots of animals. As he explored, he enjoyed everything he did. When they left, he was still thinking about what all he saw.