More family photo album than children’s storybook, The Adventures of Lilly, Poppy, and Daisy and their Friends! displays photographs of cats, along with captions elaborating on the activity in each picture.
Rather than featuring adventures with a plot or moral, this simple picture book showcases photographs of cats doing various things, including napping, investigating unfamiliar objects, and cuddling with what seems to be the author’s daughters. Each photo is treated as a vignette with accompanying text that serves as a caption. These captions describe the scene and sometimes attempt to depict what the featured cats are thinking. For example, the caption for a photo of two cats lying on a bed reads: “This is cozy [sic] thought Isabelle and Freddie, so they decided to curl up with their owner on the warm, soft, cozy white bed.”
Although these cats are cute and endearing, the photos of them vary in clarity; many are blurry or poorly lit. Additionally, the book’s text is in need of professional editing. Punctuation is often missing or used incorrectly, and the lack of attribution and demarcation for both dialogue and internal monologues make reading particularly difficult. In one scene, a black-and-white cat is shown stretching out on a car roof. “Pepper thought the roof felt soft and warm, just right for a cat nap [sic] she thought to herself,” reads part of the caption, which confusingly adds, “Look mums [sic] here let me look cute [sic] she might give me a stroke.”
In sum, although children and cats make for a perfect pairing, the text and images in this picture book lack the polish necessary for a professional presentation. Revision is required for the book to appeal to young readers and their parents.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
