As a reminder, I am reviewing one book each day until Christmas, in no particular order.
Each choice is special in its own way. All would make great gifts for your cat addicted book lovers. Or your book addicted cat lovers. I will focus on books that are quick reads with plenty of photos, because that format makes a great stocking stuffer or add on gift.
Why cat books? Several reasons, really. I adore cats. Cats appear in most of my fiction. And I enjoy promoting cat books for the holidays, because I frequently give or get them as gifts myself. And finally, so many people have a cat, that cat themed gifts are an industry. You can’t go wrong.
“A Grumpy Book” by Grumpy Cat is next on my list.
This book came out in 2013 at the height of the Grumpy Cat internet phenomenon. Much like Maru, the internet cat sensation from my Day 1 post, Grumpy Cat is recognized around the world. Maybe even more than Maru, despite those viral YouTube videos.
The cat behind Grumpy Cat was officially named Tardar Sauce. Tardar, as Grumpy, was known for her (yes, Grumpy was a girl) sour expression, the result of an underbite and dwarfism. While Tardar Sauce passed away in 2019 at the age of seven, her image continues to be popular in memes and merchandized products.
This book is a choice to consider if you’re shopping for someone who is familiar with Grumpy Cat already or has a dark sense of humor. It’s filled with pictures of Grumpy in grumpy moments, discussing the anatomy of a frown, translating “no” into various languages, and other humorous feline depictions of her memed appreciation for negativity. There are snarky comments that Grumpy Cat meme fans will love, and lots of cute pictures.
One word of warning to parents – depending on how protective you are for your kiddos – this looks like a book designed for a kid about ages 7-10. Despite the kid friendly design of the book, though, the humor leans quite dark, due to the negative spin of glorying in grumpiness.
For example, one page shows “demotivational posters.” A photo is captioned, ” If you hate something, set it free. If it returns to you, destroy it.” In another spread, Grumpy’s photos are shown at the Shackleton Expedition and on the Titanic Iceberg. Dark humor like that may be over a younger child’s head and completely missed, but it may not be the message you want for them if they can’t see the humor. In other places the humor is just a little bit “adult.” One page has a picture of Grumpy with the caption above, “ABCDE” and below her it is captioned “FU.” Again, that may be missed by a young child, but it’s ruder than many parents will appreciate for a child.
As noted, however, it does have a kid friendly layout. There are some interactive things in the style that younger kids would typically enjoy, including pages to draw, a crossword puzzle, word hunts and connect the dots pictures of the famous feline. It is hardback, so it’s sturdy and will take the wear and tear that a child might give it, so there’s definitely a mixed message going on about the age of the intended audience.
This book is not great literature, but it’s a fun nod to Grumpy Cat, if you can decide who it’s right for in your world. Depending on your family dynamics, that may be a teen with a dark sense of humor who won’t be offended by the little kid layout, or an adult with a dark sense of humor who is ten years old at heart.
Grumpy Cat fans may want a copy just because. And I admit, because it’s a souvenir of Grumpy Cat, I do have a copy on my shelf.
