Where is Tippy Toes? by Betsy Lewin

 

Where is Tippy Toes?

Bibliography

Lewin, Betsy.  2010. Where is Tippy Toes? New York, NY: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN:9781416938088

Plot Summary

The cat named Tippy Toes is a very active cat during the day, and "everyone knows" where he is since he is in the middle of everything, whether it be in the garden, loudly snoring while having a nap in a drawer, or stepping in the blueberry pie.  However, mystery surrounds his whereabouts at night.  Nobody knows where Tippy Toes goes at night, and the book suggests he may spend it prowling about outside.  It is revealed at the end of the book that there is one person who knows where Tippy Toes spends his nights, and that is the young owner that the cat snuggles with while he sleeps peacefully.

Critical Analysis

This book uses rhyme and colorful illustrations to show the whimsical antics of a pet cat.  Although this is not a wordless book, the pictures by far stand out more than the text.  The vibrant colors and thick, crayon-like lines overshadow the typed-font text.  The bright, cheerful colors used for the daytime contrast with the darker, mysterious colors shown at night, which exaggerates the unease of not knowing the whereabouts of Tippy Toes when it's dark.  In one night-time scene, the glow of Tippy Toes' green eyes is mimicked in the green glow of the fireflies at night.  The night time scenes seem ominous until the end, when it is revealed that Tippy Toes snuggles with his young owner all night.

There is not a linear plot in this book, but rather a description of his daytime antics alternating with wonderings about where he goes at night.  The reader gets increasingly worried that Tippy Toes is getting into trouble or faced with danger during the night time hours, which is really the conflict of the story.  Resolution comes with a sense of warming relief when we find that the cat spends his nights where every owner wishes a pet to be, which is snuggled up next to the boy.

This engineered book uses creative cuttings of the pages which adds a pleasant surprise when the reader turns the page and sees how drawings from the previous page are used.  One example of this is the only tail from the full-body drawing of the mouse on one page showing through a  hole in the page once it is turned. 

Review Excerpts

Horn Book Guide on April 1, 2011 said "well-camouflaged die-cuts in the friendly watercolor illustrations effectively reinforce the story line."

Jan Aldrich Solow for Library Media Connection highly recommended this book, writing on November 1, 2010 that "this square book with its lilting verse and amusing and endearing art will please readers and listeners alike. The sturdy, glossy pages will ensure that the book holds up to all the repeat readings that young ones are guaranteed to demand."

Tanya Boudreau for School Library Journal on September 1, 2010 wrote that "rhyming sentences come together with the turn of a page and continue to the satisfying page turn at the end."

On July 5, 2010, a Publishers Weekly review stated that "readers fascinated by the lives of their pets should welcome this tender offering."

Connections

I chose this book again for my love of cats, and this book truly depicts what it is like to be a cat owner.  While sometimes mischievous, there is a strong loving bond between a pet and its owner. Other books that cat-owning readers may enjoy include A Cat Called Panda by Melanie Arora (ISBN 9781908985637), Posy by Linda Newberry (ISBN 9781416971122 ), and So, What's it Like to be a Cat? by Karla Kuskin (ISBN 9780689847332).