Snazzy Cat Capers

Top cat burglar Ophelia von Hairball V gets the most important assignment of her life in this sequel to Snazzy Cat Capers (2018). A cat-astrophe is looming over the Furry Feline Burglary Institute, and they need their best agent to solve the puzzle of a lifetime. That would be Ophelia, a fluffy, white cat fond of manicures and old-fashioned heists. When Director MEW announces that all the resources of the FFBI will be at her disposal as she races to save the cat world from a threat from the Central Canine Intelligence Agency, her cousin, Pierre, who keeps his second-place standing through nefarious means, is out of his mind with envy. Once she realizes that a CCIA agent has moved in next door and is watching her every move, Ophelia has to outsmart and outmaneuver two enemies at once to win this race. She does so with an abundance of style and class. The mission's emphasis on saving the cat world reduces the moral ambiguity of Ophelia's burgling escapades (and she always returns her treasures--eventually). Kent's prose is outlandishly sprinkled with animal puns, and Ophelia's sidekick, Oscar the inventor (a goldfish), provides additional comic relief with his costumes and anxious personality. Ophelia's confidence and competence will draw readers back to this series for more dangerous, lawless adventures. Full pages of humorous graphic panels and illustrations amusingly break up the text for young chapter-book readers. Bubbles with personality. (Fiction. 8-11)

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January 1, 2019
Ophelia von Hairball V is the star thief of the Furry Feline Burglary Institute (FFBI). She tries to shake her newly assigned goldfish partner, inventor Oscar Fishgerald Gold, but instead learns teamwork. In this caper, told in a hybrid prose/comic format, cat and fish are as cute as they are clever. Navigating goofy situations with finesse and style, the characters deliver a delightfully pun-filled crime-adventure.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 15, 2018
The name's Ophelia, Ophelia von Hairball V, watch your sparkly valuables, darling.Fluffy, white cat Ophelia von Hairball of Burglaria is the world's greatest cat burglar--and the No. 1 agent of the Furry Feline Burglary Institute. She can purr-loin an emerald tiara from the whirl of a fancy-dress party while looking fur-lawless. This pussycat works alone in flagrant defiance of direct orders from FFBI Director MEW that she take on and actually keep an inventor partner, per protocol. (She's just returned her 16th.) Her 17th inventor, Oscar Fishgerald Gold, a genius goldfish with special mobile breathing apparatus, appears on Ophelia's doorstep just in time to uncover a plot hatched by her archnemesis--and unibrowed cousin--Pierre to keep Ophelia from competing in the Fifth Annual Purr-fect Heist Competition (which she always wins). Can Ophelia best her creepy cousin while avoiding Central Canine Intelligence Agency operatives? And what's she to do about this persistent fishy friend? Kent's series kickoff is a silly riot. Classy bad girl Ophelia is as funny as she is furry (though she's not too bad: FFBI agents rarely keep the sparkly they swipe...it's the thrill of the heist!). Hooson's cartoon illustrations and many in-line comic-strip pages are just the ticket to keep pages turning and prompt calls for sequels.She's the pussycat love child of James Bond and Zsa Zsa Gabor, and who can't love that? (Fantasy. 7-11)

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