GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude. The child’s mother presents White.Īn inviting and inclusive story for all-even rats. The child’s father (also brown-skinned) uses a wheelchair, and when the family is pictured eating tamales at home, a chair lift features unobtrusively in the background.
Other humans pictured are diverse in skin tone and hair textures and styles.
The tale comes to an end with one talented rat gifting a portrait to the child, who has brown skin and dark hair. The child returns the next day to help with the new-and-improved rat art fair, as under cover of night the rats have painted, knitted, and sculpted away to continue the festivities. Under softly glowing string lights they paint, juggle, and twirl in teacups until a custodian brushes away their stalls and replaces the letters-but never fear, a child attending the humans’ art fair above saves the Ferris wheel and stalls.
They depict rats who are clever, smartly dressed, and fluffy, with anthropomorphic smiles and large ears evocative of the manga character Hamtaro. Hilsaca’s sweet, pastel-hued cartoon illustrations drive the story, which is almost entirely devoid of text. When a letterboard advertising an art fair falls into disarray, a group of rats organizes a rat-sized fête, complete with pennants, popcorn, and carnival rides. Cuddly rats get creative around rearranged letters on a sign.
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