That Curious Thing: A Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure Where Cats Fight Evil and Save Dogs

by Chris Raschka

From two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka comes a delightful middle grade adventure about an evil secret society of cats who plot to exile all dogs to space. It's up to one young girl and a society of good cats to stop them! Generously illustrated with black-and-white watercolors.

When a twelve-year-old girl named Cleo and her cat, Muffin, become the newest members of PURR (Peace Urgently Requires Reasonableness), a secret society of cats fighting for peace, they aren’t exactly sure what they’re getting themselves into. Then PURR discovers that KLAW (Cats Loving Awful Warfare), an evil secret society of cats, is planning to send dogs to space for ransom. PURR tasks Cleo to infiltrate KLAW as a secret spy so together they can stop them. It will take the intelligence, confidence, and tenacity of a feline to save the world from KLAW’s evil plans. Does Cleo have what it takes?

Includes gorgeous black-and-white watercolors by two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Cats, Fantasy

312 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2024

About the author

Chris Raschka is the illustrator of The Hello, Goodbye Window, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal. He is also the illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Yo! Yes?; Charlie Parker Played Be Bop; Mysterious Thelonious; John Coltrane’s Giant Steps; Can’t Sleep; and The Magic Flute. He lives with his wife and son in New York City.

Reviews

[Lissa Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me quite strongly of Neil Gaiman and Roald Dahl. With Cats!
Definitely perfect for mid grade readers who enjoy the strange and whimsical. And while the art style wasn't quite my personal cup of tea, I believe it was suited to the story in an unfinished Adams family sort of way.

[Miss Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

One summer day Cleo chases her cat Mitten into an apartment in her building in New York City that already has five cats in it as well as Jane, an eccentric older lady. Cleo is shocked to find out that the cats can all talk and Jane is in charge of the Manhattan chapter of PURR, a super secret network of spies made up of cats and their human helpers, in fact cats are behind all the great technological advances in human history from the Great Pyramids to the internet. PURR spends their time trying to stop KLAW, their evil counterpart. Cleo and Mitten get recruited to help and high stress adventures ensue. While the premise is interesting, it does take 93 pages before Cleo finally gets to leave the PURR apartment headquarters and attempt her first mission. The cover and topic will attract some readers, but the length and slow pace for the first third of the book may deter them from finishing. Optional purchase for any library serving children in grades 3rd through 6th.

[SOYAMRG · Rating 3 out of 5]

One summer day Cleo chases her cat Mitten into an apartment in her building in New York City that already has five cats in it as well as Jane, an eccentric older lady. Cleo is shocked to find out that the cats can all talk and Jane is in charge of the Manhattan chapter of PURR, a super secret network of spies made up of cats and their human helpers, in fact cats are behind all the great technological advances in human history from the Great Pyramids to the internet. PURR spends their time trying to stop KLAW, their evil counterpart. Cleo and Mitten get recruited to help and high stress adventures ensue.

While the premise is interesting, it does take 93 pages before Cleo finally gets to leave the PURR apartment headquarters and attempt her first mission. The cover and topic will attract some readers, but the length and slow pace for the first third of the book may deter them from finishing.
Optional purchase for any library serving children in grades 3rd through 6th.

M.S.
Children's Librarian

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleo's cat Muffin has wandered off. She finds Muffin in a neighbor's apartment where there are 5 other cats - and they speak English! It turns out they, and Jane Oakhurst who also lives in that apartment, are part of a group dedicated to world peace and stability. However, there is another group, KLAW, that is determined to achieve the opposite. Cleo and Muffin join PURR, going undercover to find out what KLAW is up to and try to stop them.

Pace is a bit slow and uneven. The physical copy has black and white drawings throughout that you do not get in the audio version (obviously). Cat lovers will enjoy the quirky humor.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pace is a little slow moving for my taste but Raschka unfolds a complete story. Cleo lives with her dad in an apartment building in New York City. One day her cat, Muffin runs away and she finds him in another apartment filled with talking cats and one delightful older woman. From here, Cleo becomes involved in fighting crime with PURR. Readers see her connect with Jane and the cats and commit to preventing the evil KLAW from succeeding in their newest evil plan. Moments of humor wrap around the storyline, and, of course, the good wins in the end.

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course the cats want to get rid of all the dogs and hold them for ransom. But there is a secret cat agency PURR that wants to stop it. Cleo becomes involved in helping them. Lots of fun. It lost a lot for me because of the ending.

[Leonard Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As in The Doorman’s Repose, Raschka writes as if it were several decades ago. Props to him, but times have changed, and today’s youth looking for something with spies and pets might opt for Blabey’s Cat on the Run or Daywalt’s They Call Me No Sam.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much. Cleo is a likable character, as are neighbors, both human and feline.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after 2 hours

[Courtney Lanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me: **
First daughter ***
Second daughter ****

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly delightful 😻

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this aloud to the eight year old. We really enjoyed it. The story was engaging and exciting. We did not enjoy the illustrations though.