Review: Hard Hat Cat
Hard Hat Cat! by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh, illustrated by Maxine Lee Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous This picture book tells the story of how a stray cat, who hangs out at a construction site in Israel, comes to find his forever home. The story is told from the perspective of Ari, a young boy who notices the cat but whose mom won’t let him keep it. Children will be able to relate to Ari’s desire to keep the stray animal and they will follow along as Ari visits all of his neighbors, trying to entice them to adopt the cat. Kiffel-Alcheh’s writing is an unusual blend of poetry, prose, and sounds. While the plot will appeal to children as old as 8, the writing contains onomatopoeic words geared towards a much younger audience ("meow meow, bzz bzz!, bang bang," etc.). Some older children might be put off by that. Still, the pacing of the story is engaging, and Kiffel Alcheh incorporates Hebrew vocabulary as well as characters unique to Israel (the boreka man,