Snazzy Cat Capers

August 1, 2020
Following 2019's The Fast and the Furriest, top cat burglar Ophelia von Hairball V vies against her cheating cousin, Pierre, to keep her spot at the top of the Furry Feline Burglary Institute. Ophelia likes to complete her missions using classic methods, but sometimes she has to accept help from her fish/inventor underling, Oscar F. Gold. The first three chapters show Ophelia stealing a secret cake recipe from a castle in order to make the best birthday cake ever for her boss. After Director MEW's birthday, a competition is announced: The top spot will go to the cat who steals the most valuable treasure--and teamwork is required. Oscar is delighted to be fully included at last. Ophelia adjusts to working with a partner, confuses and defeats her canine foes, faces her fear of water, exposes her cousin's shenanigans, and, after a close call, wins the competition to keep her top spot. The story feels unwieldy at times with its many plot threads, but Kent manages to tie everything together by the end. Half-page cartoonlike illustrations with speech bubbles break up the text, and full-page panels of comic strips are integral to the story. Ophelia, a strong, smart female character, here provides readers with another fun contribution to chapter-book series shelves. Entertaining for fans of cats, adventures, and wordplay. (Fiction. 7-11)

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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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