Picture Purrfect

April 29, 2024
Burgos (The Cot in the Living Room) centers the relationship between a stray cat and a Dominican American boy who loves to draw in this family-oriented series opener about the bonds that make life sweet. On a cold winter night, Miguel Rosado rescues a hungry black-and-white cat outside of Blanca y Roja Bodega, his family’s Washington Heights store.
Urging from elderly Tío Diego (“Doesn’t Miguel need a pet? Especially since the poor child doesn’t have any siblings”) prompts Mami and Papi to reluctantly allow Miguel to keep the cat, which he names Lolo. Lolo happily settles in as the bodega’s mouser and runs off feline interlopers, and Miguel decorates his litterbox with drawings. He even creates comic books about Lolo despite Mami and Papi’s protests that art is a waste of time. Miguel soon tricks his parents into permitting him to join an art club rather than the after-school science club they’d prefer, but his subterfuge ends in near disaster. Faison’s cozy illustrations, depicting Miguel, Lolo, and the surrounding community, buoy this lively portrayal of the many forms that bravery, kindness, and connection can take. Ages 7–10.

May 15, 2024
A kindhearted boy offers a frightened stray cat refuge in his parents' bodega. Miguel hopes he can convince Mami and Papi to let him keep the kitty, and once the vet clears the little feline--christened Lord Lovey Dubby Lobo, or Lolo for short--his parents relent. Blanca y Roja Bodega is now Lolo's home! But Miguel faces another battle: persuading his pragmatic parents, who want Miguel to become an engineer, to let him join his school's art club. An aspiring comic book artist, Miguel longs to explore the world (or, at least, the rest of New York City). Desperate, he lies and secretly joins the club but struggles to balance his artistic passions with his responsibilities to his parents, immigrants from the Dominican Republic who have sacrificed to give Miguel a better life. Meanwhile, Lolo, grateful to be off the mean streets, doesn't understand why Miguel would want to leave the comforts of home. Lolo faces a more worrisome threat when another kitty starts showing up around the bodega. Exploring the burden of parental expectations, this sweet series opener alternates between chapters told from Miguel's and Lolo's equally feisty perspectives. Faison's delightful artwork fleshes out Miguel and his community; interspersed throughout are Miguel's comics, which star Lolo as the courageous Super Cat. Dollops of gentle humor and a breezy pace contribute to an overall lighthearted tone. Paw-sitively charming. (Fiction. 7-10)

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