A Purrfect Collaboration: Read Our Review of That Cat by Jacqueline Harvey, illustrated by Kate Isobel Scott

That Cat is an utterly delightful rhyming book from the prolific children’s author Jacqueline Harvey, purrfect for the whole family, and especially curious kids ages 3+.

Nothing is quite like a cat. There are brat cats and fat cats, rat cats and mat cats… but if there’s one cat everyone knows, it’s THAT CAT.

Australian author Jacqueline Harvey doesn’t need much of an introduction here at Better Reading Kids. She’s written some of our favourite children’s book series’, Alice-Miranda, Clementine Rose, and Kensy and Max – you’ve probably seen some of these books in your library, classroom or bookshelves at home. In between writing these three middle-grade series, Harvey found the time to write her first ever picture book, and it’s just as delightful and entertaining as we expected.

That Cat is the winning combination of a simple rhyming story and stunning illustrations – what more could you ask for in a picture book? I am blown away by the illustrations by Kate Isobel Scott. She is a multi-talented artist who works with clay, animations, painting and illustrations, and this is her first picture book! What’s more, Harvey, a former primary school teacher, was Scott’s Kindergarten and Year 4 teacher. This connection between the author and illustrator really shines through in the quality of the book. You can just tell they both had a blast creating it and that the readers will love it in return.

That Cat doesn’t have very many words, but it’s an ideal length for a quick bedtime read, especially for little ones who are starting to grasp all the fun of rhyming words. The illustrations are so detailed and eclectic, you could spend hours looking for hidden surprises! My favourite of all the cats in the book are mat cat, who is doing some awesome yoga poses, and hat cat, who has such a fun collection of crazy hats. Curious kids could really explore each page and the characteristics of each cat.

Whether you’re more of a cat person or a dog person, or just an all-round animal lover (there are a few rats to be found in this book, too), you will adore That Cat. I have no doubt that Harvey and Scott’s first picture book will be a favourite of 2022, and hopefully the start of a great collaboration between the talented author and illustrator.

Buy a copy of That Cat here.