Bandit

by Karen Rostoker-Gruber, Vincent Nguyen (Illustrator)

Poor Bandit! His toy basket, fuzzy mouse, blanket, and bed are gone. So is his litter box, food bowl, and tuna. Then his owner carries him to the car. What’s happening? Is he going to the vet, or on vacation, or . . . is he moving? Bandit’s adventure comes to life with Vincent Nguyen’s vivid, retro full-page and paneled illustrations featuring graphite pencil, ink, watercolor, and digital media.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Cats, Juvenile, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

My books, Bandit (Marshall Cavendish 2008), Bandit's Surprise (Marshall Cavendish 2010), and Ferret Fun (Marshall Cavendish 2011) all received starred reviews in School Library Journal; Rooster Can't Cock-a-Doodle-Doo (Dial 2004) and Bandit were both International Reading Association Children's Book Council Children's Choices Award recipients; three of my books, Rooster Can't Cock-a-Doodle-Doo (in 2005), Bandit (in 2009), and Ferret Fun (in 2012) were all chosen for the "100 Best Children's Books" in the Bureau of Education and Research's Best of the Year Handbook. Rooster Can't Cock-a-Doodle-Doo and Ferret Fun were nominated for the Missouri Show Me Award; Bandit was nominated for the South Carolina Book Award; and Rooster Can't Cock-a-Doodle-Doo was a Dollywood Foundation selection two years in a row (in 2007 the Dollywood Foundation bought 73,579 copies and in 2008 it bought 88,996 copies). Tea Time, my first board book, was published by Marshall Cavendish in 2010, Foodfright, my first novelty book, was published by PSS in 2003, and Ferret Fun in the Sun was published by Two Lions in May of 2015. (It was a Marshall Cavendish title when Margery Cuyler first acquired it.) Farmer Kobi's Hanukkah Match was published by Behrman House in August of 2015, and it became a National Jewish Book Award Finalist! In 2017, two of my books were published by Apples and Honey Press, a division of Behrman House: The Family and Frog Haggadah and Maddie the Mitzvah Clown. Maddie the Mitzvah Clown became a PJ Library selection and went out to over 21,000 Jewish children in the US and Canada in July 2017. My latest books, Happy Birthday for the Trees, (KarBen) and A Crowded Farmhouse Folktale (Whitman) will both be out in 2020!

I am a member of SCBWI and I have twice co-chaired the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature's One-on-One Conference.
And, I'm one of the co-founders of The Book Meshuggenahs.

I'm also a published humorist. My first humor book, “The Unofficial College Survival Guide,” was published in 1992 by Great Quotations. My second book, “Remote Controls Are Better Than Women Because. . . ,” was published by Longstreet Press in 1993, and my third book, “Telephones Are Better Than Men Because. . . ,” also published by Longstreet Press, came out in 1996. My fourth humor book, “If Men Had Babies. . .,” was published by CCC Publications, LLC in 2001.

Reviews

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard being a toddler. Whether you're a human child or a toddler who has been thinly disguised as an animal.

In this story, is it possible that the family is moving to a different house? Bandit is a cat, around toddler age, and he has no concept about what's going on. So many boxes! Like, what are they for.

Then there's the other kind of going on. What is missing? What in Bandit's world is missing, with no explanation?


* His toy basket
* His beloved toy/lovey Fuzzy Mouse
* Bandit's blanket (has a nice ring to that)
* And also his bed, litter box, food bowl, and tuna.

It's so easy for a toddler's wonderment at life to turn into terror. Michelle, Bandit's owner, sure isn't a great communicator. But I find the story to be effective and moving nonetheless.

Imo, this is a FIVE STAR easy reader.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Michelle and Bandit move, the cat doesn't understand what is going on. So he runs away, back to their old house, until his owner retrieves him. An animal protagonist in a picture book serves as a replacement for a child, so the fact that Bandit runs away as a coping mechanism to the upheaval in his life when they move sets a bad example for child readers. The dots in the background of the illustrations distract rather than add anything.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family moves to another house, but their cat, Bandit, feels and smells nothing familiar so finds his way back to their former home. Another family has already moved there and things aren't what he expected.

[Cheryl]

Especially for the illustrator. Consider others by Nguyen if handy & interesting, esp. as this is apparently atypical of his work.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Bandit, his entire home has been packed up around him. No couch, no litter box, no food bowl. He is put into a carrier and immediately knows that he is headed for the vet. But instead he finds himself in an empty house with none of his beloved things! So he heads back out on his own and returns to his house, curling up in the sunny spot he loves. His owner comes to rescue him when the new family throws him out of the house, and when they return to the new home he finds all of his things waiting there for him.

This is a great book to share with small children about moving. Bandit is a captivating character who doesn't back down from anything and is constantly making side-remarks to everyone around. While Bandit talks like a person to the reader, he is entirely animal-like in his behavior. Nguyen's illustrations are done in a comic-book style with thought and speech bubbles and frames. The use of a newspaper-like background also adds to this feel.

Children will see their own worries about moving reflected here and will enjoy the light tone and the animal character. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this funny story, a cat moves with his owner and does not know where they are going. When they reach the new place, the cat sneaks out, so that he can return to his home, to learn that he has a new home. At first, the cat is scared, but grows to love his new home just as much. This story relates to anyone moving because it can be scary to start something new. In the classroom, I could talk to the students about moving and how it can sometimes be a good thing in the end. At the end of the day, it is the people they are around that makes it home. I could not stop laughing as the cat made sarcastic comments about what was going through his mind during the move. I have never moved, so I cannot relate to what it feels like to move, but I have had a few friends who have moved away. The pictures in the story were full of so much detail that you could read the story without the words, which would make it good for a beginner reader.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know you can't really put these things in a children's book: cat pukes; cat hides for hours without coming out; cat refuses to eat; cat claws owner in fit of terror and anxiety; cat leaves scratch marks up and down freshly-painted walls. Nonetheless, any one of these occurrences would have made this story of a cat whose family moves more realistic, and therefore more enjoyable, to me.

[Rheta Thola · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2 year old loves this book. I actually think that the pictures are not that fun, but it seems to be the layout of the book that actually gets her interested. It is about a cat who's owner moves. But the story is broken into different blocks, similar to comic strips. There is a small amount of narration, but it is mostly word bubbles from the cat.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister has a cat, he disappeared and she said...if he is alive he would find his way home...so we figured he went to the litter box in the sky.

This book has its funny parts. Like "I am a claw abiding citizen" and "Purrfect"

The pictures dots makes it feel like a newsprint comic strip but okay! I like it!

[Amy Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bandit doesn't understand why everything is changing and why his owner takes him to a new home. He runs back to his old home only to find that new people live there. Thankfully his owner finds him and brings him back. A moving story told from the point of view of the cat.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations were interesting and kind of good, but didn't really stand out. I did not especially care for the story or the way it was told. I've moved with cats. It isn't fun, but this owner got pretty much everything wrong. Also -- where is the kid for this story?!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for cat lovers. The illustrations were just okay and the text got a little cheesey at times. I liked it fairly well though.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

cat's owner relocates...cat returns to old house...they are reunited. it was okay. illustrations are in cartoon format.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan of the illustrations and comic book style, but other than that it was a decent story.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another on on my shortlist for best picture books, I really enjoyed the story and format of "Bandit."

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comic book panel style illustrations are interesting. The story is a little flat.

[Kaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

cat was a little too much of an asshole, arrogance ok, cats are arrogant, this came off as worse.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork, nice big pictures, simple story, inside of cats head. ST on moving?