I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading books with my girls, so when I had the chance to read The Adventures of Miss Petitfour, I was very excited. This children’s chapter book was written by poet and author Ann Michaels, who is making her children’s book debut. The book features charming illustrations by Emma Block.

It’s hard to describe Miss Petitfour. She has sixteen cats, and she likes to fly around by making a parachute out of a tablecloth and letting the wind sweep her and the cats away. The book is broken into a series of short adventures, usually involving some sort of catastrophe, like a valuable stamp blowing away on a snowy day or narrowly avoiding landing in the river on their way to pick up some birthday cheddar.

The stories are told in a rather wry fashion, and are full of asides and digressions. Readers are often treated to vocabulary lessons in addition to receiving another story. Miss Petitfour is a delightful heroine, and there always seems to be something exciting happening to her. Her cats all have delightful names, and I enjoyed the introduction to each of them at the beginning of the book. There are so many of them that only a few have standout roles in the stories. Perhaps the others will be featured more prominently in future adventures.

I would recommend The Adventures of Miss Petitfour. I think this will appeal to children in elementary school. My oldest daughter is going into third grade. She said the cats were adorable and that someone can fly without wings. This is like Mary Poppins or Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, except with cats instead of children. This is an adorable collection of stories, and the illustrations are just delightful. If you are looking for something a little different, this book will not disappoint you.