Katie the Catsitter - by Colleen Af Venable

About the Book

Twelve-year-old Katie's dreading the boring summer ahead, until she realizes the mysterious neighbor who hired her to catsit is one of the city's greatest supervillains.

Book Synopsis

Calling all Raina Telgemeier fans! Introducing an irresistible new middle-grade graphic novel series about growing up, friendship, heroes, and cats (lots of cats!)--perfect for fans of Guts, Awkward and Real Friends (not to mention anyone who loves cats!)

Katie is dreading the boring summer ahead while her best friends are all away at camp--something that's way out of Katie and her mom's budget, UNLESS Katie can figure out a way to earn the money for camp herself. But when Katie gets a job catsitting for her mysterious upstairs neighbor, life get interesting. First, Madeline has 217 cats (!) and they're not exactly . . . normal cats. Also, why is Madeline always out EXACTLY when the city's most notorious villain commits crimes?! Is it possible that Katie's upstairs neighbor is really a super villain? Can Katie wrangle a whole lot of wayward cats, save a best friendship (why is Beth barely writing back? And who's this boy she keeps talking about?!), AND crack the biggest story in the city's history? Some heroes have capes . . . Katie has cats!

Review Quotes

"Who can possibly resist a team of super cats? Or a wonderful kid who gets swept up in the feline drama? I loved Katie!" --Lucy Knisley, New York Times bestselling author of Stepping Stones

"A winner." --Nick Bruel, New York Times bestselling author of the Bad Kitty series

"Super fun and utterly delightful." --Gene Luen Yang, New York Times bestselling author of American Born Chinese

Young readers will revel in the heroic antics, and older ones, like me, will be tickled by the Easter eggs strewn throughout. The sweet and funny nature of this book is expertly reflected in Yue's energetic art and seemingly effortless line work. --New York Times

★"Neko Atsume meets The Tick in this laugh-out-loud funny, well-paced series starter...Yue's expressive cartoons complement this enchanting story, the first in a series with a promising cast of characters--feline and otherwise." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A little evil and a whole lotta fun." --Kirkus Reviews

"A winsome mix of adventure, humor, and realistic middle grade problems, ideal for readers seeking the whimsy of Dav Pilkey's "Dog Man" tempered with thereassuring tone of Raina Telgemeier's work." --School Library Journal

"A pro-girl comic to encourage adventure, entrepreneurship, and excellent, pun-filled pet names." --BCCB

"Venable's twisty plot swoops gleefully around Manhattan, touching on everything from animal activism to evolving relationships to a secret rescue mission, and combining to tell the story of one of the least boring summers ever." --BookPage

"Realism and absurdity snuggle harmoniously, with such delightful dichotomies as grumpy moggy Moritz knocking over glasses as calico Jolie plays MMORPGs while donning enormous headphones." --The Bulletin

Sight gags, sly humor, pop-culture references, and a dollop of animal-rights activism combine to make Katie's story a fun one. --Booklist

About The Author

Colleen AF Venable is the author of the National Book Award Nominated graphic novel Kiss #8 and is making her middle grade debut with Katie the Catsitter. Colleen is a lifetime comic fan and has designed numerous award winning graphic novels at First-Second books. She's also is an avid rollerskater, animal rescuer, and once started a national holiday (true story). Colleen lives in Brooklyn, NY with her two pet rabbits.

Stephanie Yue grew up in Atlanta, Beijing, and Hong Kong. She's a lifetime comic fan and martial artist (with a black belt in Kung Fu) and travels the world by motorbike. Stephanie was the colorist for the megahit, industry changing, Smile by Raina Telgemeier and Katie is her debut as a middle grade graphic novel illustrator. Stephanie currently divides her time between Boston and Hong Kong, where she's working on the second Katie. Visit her online at http: //stephanieyue.com and on twitter @quezzie.com.