That Curious Thing

A delightful middle grade adventure by two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka about good, evil, and cats. Generously illustrated with black-and-white illustrations.

When a twelve-year-old girl named Cleo and her cat, Muffin, become the newest members of PURR (Peace Urgently Requires Reasonableness), a secret society of cats fighting for peace, they aren’t exactly sure what they’re getting themselves into. Then, PURR discovers that KLAW (Cats Loving Awful Warfare), an evil secret society of cats, is planning to send dogs to space for ransom. PURR tasks Cleo to infiltrate KLAW as a secret spy so together they can stop them. It will take the intelligence, confidence, and tenacity of a feline to save the world from KLAW’s evil plans. Does Cleo have what it takes?

Includes gorgeous black-and-white watercolors by two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.

A Children’s Book Committee Best Book of the Year!

• Secret Society of Cats: Join PURR, a clandestine group of feline agents fighting for peace against the villainous cats of KLAW.
• A Daring Secret Spy: When KLAW plans to launch dogs into space, it’s up to twelve-year-old Cleo to go undercover and foil their outrageous plot.
• Hilarious Animal Hijinks: From talking cats who love tea to an evil scheme of cosmic proportions, this story is packed with humor and adventure.
• Gorgeous Illustrations: Generously illustrated with black-and-white watercolors by two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka.

“Eclectic characters, spot art in the creator’s signature smudgy style, plentiful cleverly imagined or screwball tangents and asides…make for an archly comical, occasionally woolly fantasy novel by Raschka.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The terrifically surreal story is an outlandish delight, chock-full of high jinks and hilarious history. . . . The quick pace and unconventional illustrations will capture readers’ attention easily.” - Michael di Capua