Is That a Cat? by Tim Hamilton

by Tim Hamilton

Zaniness abounds in this picture book about a series of mistaken identities.While in search of a friend, the cat bumps into an elf. The elf needs rain to test his umbrella, but the only drops he finds are a bear's tears. This poor bear is looking for something his lost boot. Unfortunately, he discovers a dog instead. Hunting down these missing treasures gets harder and harder as each pursuit reveals something entirely different. Though no one gets what they were hoping for, this wacky chain of events leads to a happy ending. The group of characters has found one another and a good time!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Humor, Childrens, Friendship

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Tim Hamilton lives in Brooklyn, NY where he is often walking his dog and saying hi to other dogs in between saying hi to stray cats and then bandaging his hands because not all stray cats want to say hi.
His clients include: The New Yorker, The New York Times, Cicada Magazine, Dark Horse, Marvel, DC Comics, Mad Magazine, Nickelodeon Magazine, Lifetime, Amazon Studios, Holiday House, Fast Company Magazine and PublicAffairs.

He has written and illustrated books for young readers such as, The Big Fib, But! and Is That A Cat?

He publishes his own comic anthology, Rabbit Who Fights here: https://gumroad.com/timhamiltonrwf?so...

In 2010 
he adapted Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451″ into a graphic novel for Hill & Wang with Mr. Bradbury’s blessing. The resulting book was nominated for an Eisner award in the “Best Adaptation of Another Work” category.

Reviews

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book for making predictions based on visual clues.

[Sorome G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is that a cat is a picture book by Tim Hamilton that takes us on the journey of a cat that tries to find another cat like him that could play with him. On his journey to look for a cat that can play with him, he runs to a bunch of different animals and people that desire something. Some are looking for friends and others for food. They all come across a little boy who has no friends to play with and they all end up having a great friendship with one another. The theme of this book is friendship and enjoying the moment with the people you have around you. Sometimes the things we long search for are not that far away we just need to get up and look.
This book was silly but it was enjoyable. The message is not deep but just for fun. I wasn’t a huge fan of the illustrations and the story wasn’t my favorite but it was still enjoyable to read.
I would use this book in a classroom with a unit on friendship. I liked how they all ended up forgetting their wishes because they built a great friendship with one another.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Most of my 4s and 5s quickly caught on to the fact that we wouldn't see what we expected when we turned the page! Fun book with goofy illustrations. The tree doctor was an odd choice though. I liked that I had a kid who was still trying to solve the characters' initial problems even when the story was over.

[Joey Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would be good for younger elementary classes. I thought the writer was clever when introducing new characters because you never knew what was going to come next.

Guided reading: K
DRA Level: N/A
Traits: voice, presentation

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for predicting with kids!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lesson in things aren't always as they appear. This would be a good book for making predictions with visual clues.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

1/20/21 Read with Julia

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cute and a good thing for kids to hear while COVID continues to disrupt their lives and socializing

[Rediz]

creative use of art.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky illustrations are the key to this amusing book that primary teachers will enjoying using when talking about prediction. A lonely cat seeks friends. He sees something that looks like a tail, out of the window. Is it another cat? No, it's the handle of an elf's umbrella. Those drops coming down--are they rain? Turn the page to discover they are the tears of a bear who's lost his other boot. Wait, is that the boot? Every picture introduces something that seems to fit in with the previous picture, but turns out to be something completely different, and a bit whacky. Soon a trail of critters and people are winding through the neighborhood following clues. The ending is heart-warming, but breaks the pattern. This book will draw children in and, after the first pages, they'll be trying to guess what's coming next. It's a lot of fun.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It all starts with a cat looking for a friend with whom to play. When the cat thinks it sees another cat outside the window from the glimpse it spies of its tale, it finds that it's mistaken. One mistake leads to another, and then another, and the climax is reached when each of the characters follows what might be a worm but turns out to be a hose to a pool where a lonely little boy is looking for friends. It looks as though he got more than he bargained for. The silly expressions of the characters, each seemingly bemused and confused, are captured well in the illustrations, created with pen and ink, watercolors, and with the use of digital tools. Although it is funny, the book also makes readers think. After all, sometimes our first assumptions or what we think we see are far off base.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, what fun! I love reading stories that take you on a mini adventure and this is one of those books! It all starts when Cat began looking for a friend and then along the way he meets a lot of characters looking for things they cannot place. At the end they all found something they least expected! I adored this wonderful and adorable tale about finding friendship is the most unexpected places! Not only was is heartwarming...it was also funny to boot! Your children will get caught up in the illustrations because there is so much to look at! 5 stars

[Anna Fillmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud that invites the audience to participate. Plus, you get a satisfying emotional story of characters looking for and eventually finding community. Loneliness is licked is this picture book.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun visual joke.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be fun and might work for orimary teachers wanting to talk about prediction.

[Janet Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the scenarios build upon each other.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever story line, dependent on illustrations to guide reader to predict what the next object will be.
Cartoon, line illustrations help move the story.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of mistaken identities.