Grandma's coming to visit, and the family o dads and their kids st quickly tidy up. Getting started, one dad assigns who'll be doing what, listing everything on the refrigerator in colorful letter magnets obby, mop the floor. / Dad will scrub the dishes. / I'll vacuum the rug. / Sarah, feed the fishes" us, there's giving kitty a bath. Hearing the latter, the none-too-thrilled cat takes action, rearranging the refrigerator words, and then the task-organizer jumbles his instructions, too ("I'll vacuum the lawn. / Bobby, bathe the mat. / Sarah, mop the baby, / and Dad will mow the cat"). But kitty's not keen on that either! The cat scrambles the words again (and again), with the confusion escalating with each mischievous revision. Finally, everything's sorted and neat when Grandma arrives, and while kitty never receives a bath, perhaps that was the plan all along. Lively, expressive watercolor-and-pencil illustrations of the multiracial family and animated scenarios are the perfect accompaniment for the peppy rhyming text, humorously depicting the household-chores chaos (and kitty's contributions) in this inviting, quite entertaining read-aloud friendly title.

A family of five has a lot to do before Grandma's visit; luckily, the father narrating McGinty's (The Water Lady, rev. 3/21) energetically rhyming story is good at delegating: "Bobby, mop the floor. / Dad will scrub the dishes. / I'll vacuum the rug. / Sarah, feed the fishes." In case anyone needs a reminder, a job list is on the refrigerator, spelled out with colorful magnetic letters. The list is helpful...and it's also how things go off the rails. An orange cat sneakily rearranges the words on the fridge, hoping to escape the dreaded "I'll bathe the cat." When the family gets to work, they're confused but compliant: "I'll vacuum the lawn. / Bobby, bathe the mat. / Sarah, mop the baby, / and Dad will mow the cat." Whoa! Definitely not what the cat intended. Cleanly rendered illustrations show the family dutifully following orders while things go hilariously wrong. Roberts's (Ada Twist, Scientist) precise pencil and watercolor illustrations go beyond the entertaining premise to matter-of-factly portray a family at the intersection of a number of identities. The two fathers have brown skin, as do two of their kids. Sarah, who wears a T-rex costume, is white with red hair and freckles. Dad, who also has freckles, wears pink pants, as does Bobby. This diversity isn't the point of the story but offers much to contemplate after the silliness is done -- and the cat still isn't bathed. Kitty Flynn

With a wildly mixed-up list of chores, will the house ever get cleaned?Grandma is on her way over, and the house is a mess. Using colorful magnetic letters on the refrigerator, Daddy-one of two dark-skinned fathers-makes a to-do list that consists of mopping the floor, scrubbing the dishes, vacuuming the rug, feeding the fish, mowing the lawn, sweeping the mat, rocking the baby, and bathing the cat. That last instruction gets the attention of the marmalade-colored feline, whose ears perk up. In the next spread, readers see a paw rearranging the letters on the refrigerator, which results in utter confusion for the family-and subsequent slapstick adventures. Bobby rocks the rug; Dad attempts to mow the cat; and Sarah mops the baby. Daddy tries his best to get the chores in order, but the kitty continues to wreak havoc at the refrigerator. More than once, confused Daddy returns to the list but continues to dole out chores. In the end, the lucky cat merely gets a cuddle (no baths), and Grandma visits a clean house. McGinty's jaunty, rhyming text makes for a fun read-aloud, but Roberts' brightly colored, energetic illustrations are the real attraction. The increasingly frantic family, with light to dark skin tones, doing silly tasks from a muddled list will incite giggles. (This book was reviewed digitally).The smart and sneaky puss wins the day. (Picture book. 3-5)