Book review: ‘Crouton: One Cat’s Adoption Tale’
Crouton: One Cat’s Adoption Tale written and illustrated by Kristine A. Lombardi. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2026. Hardcover, 40 pages.
Pets adopt us just as much as we adopt them. Just ask Crouton, a cat in a shelter who’s on the lookout for the right person, the one whom she can adopt as her own. Patience turns out to be a feline virtue when Crouton sees a little girl and her family perusing cats in the shelter. Crouton knows the child is meant to be the one she adopts and quite happily goes home with the girl and her family.
Leaving the shelter to take care of her new person isn’t just a nap in the sun though. Crouton takes her adoption duties very seriously, as she trains the little girl in grooming, feeding, doing homework, and catching the school bus on time.
In this whimsical picture book for ages 4 to 8, author and illustrator Kristine A. Lombardi turns pet adoption on its head, as cats become the potential adopters looking for their purr-fect adoptable human to stop in front of them.
Kristine’s take on pet adoption is a twist that sets Crouton: One Cat’s Adoption Tale apart from other such books aimed at this age group. Her pencil drawings, along with an age-appropriate description of animal shelters focusing on positive outcomes, will make this sweet picture book a bedtime favorite.
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