FUN, META PICTURE BOOK: Smart, funny, self-aware—and readers are in on the joke. It fits perfectly with popular titles like Snappsy the Alligator; I Didn’t Do My Homework Because; Chester; and A Perfectly Messed-Up Story.

EASY-TO-READ TEXT: Perfect for beginning readers and a great storytime read-aloud.

ADORABLE ILLUSTRATIONS: Readers will love the mischievous cat and beleaguered girl, while the spare and contemporary illustrations beautifully show the increasing mess (and fun) of the narrative.

ILLUSTRATOR ON THE RISE: John Martz is an award-winning up-and-coming illustrator with strong connections to the comics scene. He is also the Art Director for Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers!

EZRA JACK KEATS AWARD-WINNING WRITER: We’re committed to building Nicola as an author, as we love her writing and her beautiful books, including The Pirate’s Bed and A Bedtime Yarn.

NICOLA WINSTANLEY has always believed in the power of stories to bring comfort. She is the author of The Pirate’s Bed, A Bedtime Yarn and Cinnamon Baby, which won an honor prize for the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award and was shortlisted for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Nicola lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her family, a huge cat, and a tiny dog.

Author Residence: Hamilton, Ontario

Author Hometown: New Zealand

JOHN MARTZ is an illustrator, cartoonist and designer. He is the author and illustrator of Evie and the Truth About Witches, Burt’s Way Home, A Cat Named Tim and Other Stories and the illustrator of Who’s on First? and Crocodile Hungry. His work has also appeared in MAD Magazine and The Nib. He lives in Toronto.

Illustrator Residence: Toronto, Ontario

Illustrator Hometown: Kitchener, Ontario

Featured in School Library Journal's top 2019 "Funny Picture Books" list
One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens 2019
One of the Ontario Library Association’s 2019 Top Ten Titles

PRAISE FOR How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps:

“This laugh-out-loud picture book can serve as a beginning reader. . . . The inevitable ending will delight both children and adults and this title will be requested over and over.” --STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

“Early-years students will love the humour and irony of the situation. Highly recommended.” —Resource Links

“As the chaos unfolds, viewers will be delighted to track the cat through the chase scenes. . . . There’s a wry humor in the unseen narrator’s directives, and the text makes a particularly amusing counterpart to the little girl’s visibly increasing frustration with the whole endeavor.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"[A] pleasing and well-executed story that really is the cat’s meow. An excellent choice for independent reading and sharing in small groups.” —School Library Journal

“Everyone will appreciate this delightful book.” —Imaginary Elevators

"Martz’s expressive art lays out the runaway circumstances through vignettelike passages and dialogue balloons, capturing the experience of well-laid plans quickly unraveling into disaster." —Publishers Weekly

“Adorably frustrating . . . will have young readers slapping their foreheads in exasperation, but will reward them with a sweet, funny ending . . . Martz’s colourful line drawings match the happy, manic energy.” —New York Times

“Delightfully entertaining.” —Midwest Book Review