Two cats learn patience while encouraging a tree to grow in Dori Seider’s picture book Jazzy and Rhumbi: Our Noble Tree.

Two kittens, Jazzy and Rhumbi, move to a new house and begin watching a tree from their front window. As time passes, they wonder why the tree doesn’t seem to grow. When it finally starts to grow, it does so sideways instead of vertically.

Some children and animals make fun of the tree, but the cats decide to trust the tree to do what’s best. The tree itself manages to stay positive and trust itself about how and when to grow. More seasons pass, and eventually, the tree grows tall and beautiful.

This is a sweet, calming book about having trust and patience. Both the cats and the tree learn that they can’t control everything, and that sometimes watching, waiting, and being supportive is the best approach.

The cats are caring, likeable characters but there’s little individual development; in fact, it’s not clear from the text or images which is Jazzy and which is Rhumbi. Additionally, the writing jarringly shifts from past to present tense, and from an omniscient narrator to a final word directly from the cats. And on one page, one cat says, “This is what Quiet One meant about having patience,” but there’s no other reference to “Quiet One” in text or images, to clarify who the cats are referring to.

The illustrations are colorful and engaging. Particularly arresting is a sequence at book’s end showing the full-grown tree throughout the various seasons of a year. Unfortunately, the combination of text and image doesn’t always gel. For example, the book’s first page of text mentions the “little oak tree” that caught the kittens’ attention, but three pages pass before readers first glimpse the tree.

While the book could use more polish, it’s largely a read that shows the virtues of patience, love, and going at one’s own pace.

Also available as an ebook.