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Crazy About Cats
Did you know that the fishing cat has partially webbed paws for catching fish? Or that pumas can leap over 15 feet into trees? There are roughly 38 species of cats today, each one superbly adapted to their environment - whether that be in the rainforest or the desert!
40 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2017
About the author
Owen Davey
85 books63 followersOwen Davey describes his style as contemporary and nostalgic and likes to use a palette of warm, muted colors. His work has been featured in the New York Times and Jamie Oliver's food magazine. Owen has had many knightly adventures of his own where he lives in Bristol, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 7, 2019
Wonderful factual book all about the cat family. Beautiful illustrations and interesting facts, this is a really nice series.
November 23, 2017
This book would make any lover of cats happy. 🐈 🐱 Chock full of stunning artwork and information, Crazy About Cats covers it all from the different types of cats to cat mythology. It’s like an entertaining encyclopedia of the feline! This is recommended for children of all ages, and really, for anyone who loves a cat.
Thank you to Owen Davey, Flying Eye Books, and Edelweiss for the copy to review.
Thank you to Owen Davey, Flying Eye Books, and Edelweiss for the copy to review.
January 7, 2025
The highlight of this book is the amazing illustrations that are done in a graphic design style. It's a beautiful book that is worth having in a children's book collection.
October 6, 2021
Requested for the illustrations, and, yes, they are stunning.
I do have quibbles about the educational value. The drawing of the lineage of cats is hard to read; and most will see it as linear, with the tiger being first and others following (the text attempts to explain, but confused me until I very carefully examined the illustration). Also the process of the domestication of Felis is described as if established fact, and I understand that it's actually just a likely theory. Also no bibliography.
Did you know that there are different species of cat? I sure didn't.
I do have quibbles about the educational value. The drawing of the lineage of cats is hard to read; and most will see it as linear, with the tiger being first and others following (the text attempts to explain, but confused me until I very carefully examined the illustration). Also the process of the domestication of Felis is described as if established fact, and I understand that it's actually just a likely theory. Also no bibliography.
Did you know that there are different species of cat? I sure didn't.
July 24, 2017
Everyone on Earth should read this.
BooktubeAThon Challenge #7: read seven books (picture books are books, stfu)
BooktubeAThon Challenge #7: read seven books (picture books are books, stfu)
May 18, 2017
A combination of good basic descriptions of what is a wild cat as well as interesting, little known facts about the many different wild cats around the world, all displayed with beautiful graphics. I especially liked the depiction of different cat camouflage. Good for advanced first and second grade readers or adults reading with children.
August 31, 2021
Beautiful and educational. Owen Davey's illustrations just grab me. Full of great information about cats, including those cats that dont' always get the spotlight. I think this would be great for elementary age kids, but even adults will find much to appreciate. My 5 1/2 year old and 8 year old both enjoyed it. Wish there was a Bibliography, otherwise I might have given it five stars.
September 26, 2017
This nonfiction picture book contains fascinating information about wild cats around the world and beautiful illustrations. Young readers are always interested in books about animals, and I believe this would be a lovely nonfiction resource to have on the classroom bookshelf.
November 7, 2019
Feline fanatics of all ages need to do themselves a favor and give this book a look see! The colorful and quirky illustrations leap off the pages and oh so perfectly frame the text that is informative and easily digestible for young readers.
November 9, 2017
this could also be the title of my biography, btw.
June 21, 2020
A beautiful book for young cat lovers (and young at heart cat lovers). Filled with gorgeous art and printed on heavy stock paper. This book is a fascinating delight for those readers who are crazy about cats.
March 29, 2022
Colorful, entertaining, educational. You are so busy flipping through the pages to note the facts that you hardly notice you are learning so much along the way. Love the way these books make learning fun!
March 14, 2018
Crazy About Cats is a book written and illustrated by Owen Davey. You might recognize his name from Mad About Monkeys or Smart About Sharks. This hardcover book is approximately 40 pages long and begins by explaining what cats are. There are between 37 and 41 different species of cats, which belong to a group of mammals known as felids. They can live in a variety of habitats, are carnivores, and are generally shy of people. Felid-like animals have been around for about 50 million years and are divided into eight groups based on their history of evolution. Other chapters illustrate their basic anatomy, their territory, what they eat, how they hunt, and even cats in mythology. The sections my son and I found most interesting were when they highlighted specific cats and also the awards section which told who had the loudest roar or longest jump. I was surprised to learn that tigers are actually the largest cat and not the lion. This is a gorgeous book, and Owen Davey is a masterful illustrator. He makes the animals come alive and growl right off the page. Highly recommended for the cat-lover in your life!
August 30, 2017
"Crazy about Cats" is a children's nonfiction about big cats. The illustrations were stylized (rather than highly realistic). However, they showed the unique characteristics of the different types of cats (lions, pumas, etc.) so it was still easy to identify the cats. The text talked about things like unique big cat features, their coat patterns, their hunting strategies (fish, hide and pounce, etc.), territory, and roaring. He also had featured cats where he gave more information about some cats that I've never even heard of before (margay, rusty-spotted cat) and some more common types (lion, tiger). Overall, I liked this book and would recommend it.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
June 1, 2018
Een machtig mooi boek met heerlijke illustraties over katten. Van leeuwen tot lynxes tot huiskatten tot luipaarden, echt allerlei katten komen voorbij. We leren over de vacht, over geursporen, over jagen en wat ze eten, over of ze alleen of samen zijn, en bergen meer. Het boek leest lekker, en tja, die illustraties. Ik was al een fan, maar ik ben nu een nog grotere fan. Ook zeker pluspunten voor de mooie cover.
Dit is zeker een aanrader!
Dit is zeker een aanrader!
August 14, 2017
Owen Davey creates beautiful books. Anyone who has seen Mad About Monkeys or Smart About Sharks knows what I mean. As I've said before, the illustrations are crisp and clean without being cold or mechanical and have very retro vibe to them. The table of contents is located within the deep shadows among rain forest plants. There is a large 2-page spread showing the relative size of each species that is awesome in its ability to convey the wide range of possibilities from the largest tiger to the rusty-spotted cat. And another spread showing the various patterns that help to camouflage the cats in their habitats is incredibly detailed, right down to distinguishing the difference between the rosettes on a jaguar from those of a leopard.
A wide selection of cats of different sizes and abilities are included. Commonly known species like the cheetah and lion are seen, along with those of lesser notoriety such as pampas cats or Asiatic golden cats. And the section on cat mythology even mentions the Maneki-Neko beckoning cat figurines.
The facts are presented in 2-page sections ranging from marking territory to awards for loudest roar, longest jump, and longest tail. Several different types of charts and diagrams are used to present facts such as the modern species of wild cats, or the adaptations that give the Asiatic golden cat its "real life super powers.' There are catchy headings for each section. Young readers may not catch the word play ("Paws for Thought" or "Kitten Caboodle" ) but adults who will be reading along with many of those youngsters will appreciate the humor.
This is an excellent addition to any library collection, especially those serving an elementary or middle school audience. While the text is not overly technical, it also does not talk down to young readers. The author seems to understand that those who are fascinated with a subject will usually have the patience to work out what the text says so that they may satisfy their curiosity.
I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.
A wide selection of cats of different sizes and abilities are included. Commonly known species like the cheetah and lion are seen, along with those of lesser notoriety such as pampas cats or Asiatic golden cats. And the section on cat mythology even mentions the Maneki-Neko beckoning cat figurines.
The facts are presented in 2-page sections ranging from marking territory to awards for loudest roar, longest jump, and longest tail. Several different types of charts and diagrams are used to present facts such as the modern species of wild cats, or the adaptations that give the Asiatic golden cat its "real life super powers.' There are catchy headings for each section. Young readers may not catch the word play ("Paws for Thought" or "Kitten Caboodle" ) but adults who will be reading along with many of those youngsters will appreciate the humor.
This is an excellent addition to any library collection, especially those serving an elementary or middle school audience. While the text is not overly technical, it also does not talk down to young readers. The author seems to understand that those who are fascinated with a subject will usually have the patience to work out what the text says so that they may satisfy their curiosity.
I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.
October 21, 2023
Nonfiction, animals, big cats
This book dives into the world of cats, describing their environments, eating habits and lives.I think this book would be a great resource in the classroom to pull in readers with an interest in animals or big cats specifically. With great information and gorgeous art, this book is captivating for young readers and helps get and keep students interested in books
Crazy About Cats is an informative illustrated guide to big cats from around the world. The illustrations are important to understanding what the animal looks like, and what its environment looks like as well. This book is actually one of many by the author Owen Davey in his series About Animals. Each page is full of factual descriptions ranging from species, body parts, behavioral patterns and lineage. All these features contribute to the categorization of this book as a Traditional Nonfiction.
This book dives into the world of cats, describing their environments, eating habits and lives.I think this book would be a great resource in the classroom to pull in readers with an interest in animals or big cats specifically. With great information and gorgeous art, this book is captivating for young readers and helps get and keep students interested in books
Crazy About Cats is an informative illustrated guide to big cats from around the world. The illustrations are important to understanding what the animal looks like, and what its environment looks like as well. This book is actually one of many by the author Owen Davey in his series About Animals. Each page is full of factual descriptions ranging from species, body parts, behavioral patterns and lineage. All these features contribute to the categorization of this book as a Traditional Nonfiction.
November 24, 2022
5 stars (It was amazing).
Let me start by saying, I am totally biased as I LOVE cats. But I really do think Davey did a great job of including a lot of different information about cats in a short text. I volunteer at the zoo and part of my job there is telling people about lions, cheetahs and leopards. I was happy to see some of the information I tell people about (like the difference in spots between leopards and jaguars) and there were even things I learned!
I will definitely need to be getting this book for my school library (If I haven't already. I ordered several from this series and I'm not sure if this was one of them)
Let me start by saying, I am totally biased as I LOVE cats. But I really do think Davey did a great job of including a lot of different information about cats in a short text. I volunteer at the zoo and part of my job there is telling people about lions, cheetahs and leopards. I was happy to see some of the information I tell people about (like the difference in spots between leopards and jaguars) and there were even things I learned!
I will definitely need to be getting this book for my school library (If I haven't already. I ordered several from this series and I'm not sure if this was one of them)
March 3, 2023
This was bought as a birthday present from my soon to be eight year old granddaughter’s birthday. She is a fan of big cats, especially lions. The illustrations in this book are ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!! The facts presented are abundant and interesting. I had no idea I had so much to learn about these incredible creatures. This book is entirely appropriate for independent readers. There are words they will easily recognize and there are words that will challenge their use of context and pronunciation to decipher. I have no doubt that my granddaughter is going to LOVE this book and treasure it for years to come!
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May 28, 2025I don't think anyone can possibly have missed how amazing Flying Eye's non fiction books are and this series is just WOW!
Owen Davey has the perfect formula throughout his books. The content is perfectly pitched to teach enough about the subject - in this case Cats. Alongside his absolutely standout illustrations, these book are just perfect for our school library and everyone loves to just sit and look through the pages!
Incredible quality, this paperback retails at £8.99 which is just amazing.
Love it in case you didn't get that - but then I've loved them all.
Thanks to Flying Eye for this copy, which is out on 3rd July.
Owen Davey has the perfect formula throughout his books. The content is perfectly pitched to teach enough about the subject - in this case Cats. Alongside his absolutely standout illustrations, these book are just perfect for our school library and everyone loves to just sit and look through the pages!
Incredible quality, this paperback retails at £8.99 which is just amazing.
Love it in case you didn't get that - but then I've loved them all.
Thanks to Flying Eye for this copy, which is out on 3rd July.
August 5, 2017
A perfect choice for child interested in wild animals and cat lovers of all ages. The illustrations in the book perfectly capture felid movements and stances. The verbiage matches the images to completely support learning about cats in the wild. I am highly anticipating its release and will be checking out the illustrators' previous releases.
August 8, 2021
I am not a fan of reading wordy nonfiction books at bedtime but this was a great one for my preschooler to page through on his own. More importantly, this was the first book he got by telling a librarian what kind of book he was looking for (a real book about cheetahs) and got help finding the right section of the library. I LOVE this milestone!
July 8, 2018
This encyclopedia presents information in a very fresh and innovative way. The vector illustrations are adorable and work well with the overall design of the book. I'm definitely eager to check more books from the same publisher.
February 11, 2019
This book was so interesting, a great introduction to big cats. My boys were so excited to read this book. It is really hard to find good non-fiction books that are interesting to read. This one fits the bill. We loved it.
August 17, 2017
A ferociously fun factual read about all things feline!
September 16, 2017
Such a cool nonfiction book about wild cats. The illustrations are amazing and the facts are presented in a fun way. Recommended for upper elementary.
October 20, 2017
My review of this book is available on the CBCA's Reading Time web page - http://readingtime.com.au/
October 31, 2017
Beautiful illustrations!
November 13, 2017
love the illustrations!
December 19, 2017
Cute, very informative book about cats. I enjoyed reading it and I was very impressed with the paper quality and how environmentally conscious this book was. Kudos!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews