In the dedication of Snazzy Cat Capers, Kelowna, B.C., residents and husband and wife author and illustrator team Deanna Kent and Neil Hooson say the first book in what will be a series of three books, is dedicated to “anyone who has ever secretly (or not so secretly) wanted to be a snazzy cat burglar with lots of guts and awesome gadgets.”

In this case the cat burglar is a feline named Ophelia von Hairball of Burglaria, a stylist thief extraordinaire “who follows a timeless, honourable code to keep cat burglary classy” – she comes, she steals, she gloats, she displays and, eventually, she returns.

She also works alone, as the 16 inventors have discovered after arriving at her door, staying until their annoying habits, such knock knock jokes, send them straight back to MEW, the head of the FFBI (Furry Feline Burglary Institute).

So when Oscar F. Gold (Inventor No. 17), a fish, shows up on her door, she grudgingly accepts his gadgets, and orders him to make new ones, and then attempts to ditch her sidekick so she can do steal the rare Himalayan diamond from the famed, heavily guarded Belle Mew-Seum in Paris, France.

The book has gadgets, enemies in the form of Ophelia’s sneaky, unclassy cousin Pierre von Rascal of Thievesylvania and lots of adventure.

The chapter book has lots of great illustrations (I really like the illustrations. The couple used to work at Disney. Super cool) mixed in with the chapter book and there are several panels of comics as well. I also loved the quote by Ophelia von Hairball that started every chapter.

It was a quick read. I finished it off in a day. The cat words became a little much for me after a while, but I suspect that is because I am not really the demographic the book is aimed at (seven to 10).

Ophelia wasn’t my favourite character at first, particularly how she treats Oscar, who not only did a lot of research and seems to know all about her, but who is eager, kind, funny and doesn’t take no for answer. I like Oscar. The book was a bit slow in the middle, but once the action started, lots happened and the end didn’t go as I was expecting, which is a good thing. (Apparently I have become jaded in my reading. I should have remembered what age group the book was written for.)

Snazzy Cat Capers ($18.50, Raincoast Books, Imprint) website has a number of fun things to do including how to draw these great characters. There is also a Teachers’ Guide, which you can download here.

I am looking forward to see what adventures Ophelia and Oscar get up to next. Check out the book trailer below.

A copy of this book was provided by Raincoast Books for an honest review. The opinions are my own.

Enter for your chance to win a copy of Snazzy Cat Capers

Raincoast Books is offering a copy of Snazzy Cat Capers to one Canadian resident 18 and older, excluding residents of Quebec. To enter for your chance to win a copy of Snazzy Cat Capers, leave a comment below. The contest runs from today, Oct. 24, until Friday, Nov. 9 at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time Zone). I will contact the winner through the comment section. The winner has 48 hours to respond via email to contestsforbooktime@gmail.com with a Canadian mailing address. The winner’s name and mailing address will be forwarded to Raincoast Books, who will send the prize. Book Time is no longer responsible for the prize. The prize is valued at $18.50.

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