FREE: SNOT STEW by Bill Wallace

Grade 3-5-- Two kittens adopted by two children must learn the ways of humans. They hear the children arguing over possessions ("Is not!. . .Is too!) and think they are playing a game called "Snot Stew." When the kittens begin to play the game, however, they find that it can lead to hurt feelings, animosity, and danger. The story is narrated by the female kitten, and the descriptions of things from a cat's point of view are amusing at first and soon become simplistic and predictable. The story drags; its short, simple sentences create a feeling of stiffness. The most disturbing thing about the book is the contradictory nature of the kittens--they act very human on the one hand, but the plot is based on their misunderstandings of human nature. The story lacks believability. Those who have enjoyed such fine cat tales as Beverly Cleary's Socks (Morrow, 1973), Margaret Wise Brown's Sneakers (Addison-Wesley, 1979; o.p.), and Eleanor Clymer's Horatio (Macmillan, 1974) will not be satisfied with Snot Stew.
-Susan Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, Ohio