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Katie the Catsitter

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By Colleen A.F. Venable
Illustrated by Stephanie Yue
New York: Random House Childrens Books, 2021. Graphic novel.

Katie is dreading her boring summer stuck in the city while her best friends are at sleepaway camp, something that her single mom can't afford. Though her friend's mom offers to pay for her, Katie decides she'd rather earn the money herself by picking up odd jobs around her apartment building. Though her attempts at watering plants and carrying groceries are catastrophic, she finally finds the perfect job cat-sitting for her eccentric neighbor's 217 cats. Cats with a range of talents like ordering pizza on the internet, rearranging furniture, and performing mixed martial arts. Katie is positive something is amiss, especially once she realizes that her mysterious neighbor Ms. Lang is always "working late" on nights when New York's most notorious supervillain, The Mousetress, strikes.

This graphic novel series opener is perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Victoria Jamieson. In a city filled with supervillains and superheroes (who have Yelp ratings), Katie's problems still come across as relatable tween-girl problems. In other words, this book has a perfect balance of drama and superhero action plus a ton of humor and lots and lots of cat antics. For graphic novel readers, this book is too fun to skip!
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