Bandit

Bandit is written by Karen Rostoker-Gruber and is illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. This book is similar to a graphic novel. It contains numerous speech bubbles of what Bandit the cat is thinking or saying. This story follows Bandit, an orange tabby cat, whose owner decides to move. Bandit can't figure out why his house is emptying out and all of his belongings are being taken away by strange men in a van. His owner drives much further than the vet to get to their new house. Only Bandit thinks he must return home! None of his possessions are in this cold, stark new house so he takes off out the door and runs all the way back to his old house. He slips inside the screen door and the new family who has moved in is shocked to find a cat in their home. The woman demands that Bandit leave. He is kicked out and as he's running off his owner drives up and finds him right where she thought he would be. Relieved to be safe, Bandit is taken home to his new house where he finds it unpacked and all of his things where they should be. Comforted, Bandit accepts his new "home".

This book is really fun to read. All of the speech bubbles and it's comic look make it aesthetically pleasing. It also contains a lot of humor - the cat makes for an interesting main character! This book would be great for middle elementary. It would also make for a fun read aloud. It has a great, relatable message about moving and how tough that can be. I'm sure many students will have dealt with moving before so this book is a great way to approach that subject. After reading the book it could be fun to have them share moving stories or how they felt/would feel if they moved to another house, neighborhood, city or even state. I like to read books with kids that open up conversation and this one definitely fills that category. Additionally, I think the illustrations are so great - very modern and unique. They're simple, but appealing. They remind me of a cartoon, which many kids love! I would definitely include this book in my classroom for read-aloud or for my classroom library for the cat lover out there.