Who says you have to step outdoors to feel the bustle of the cityThree indoor cats named Nori, Yeti, and Flo fill their day with ordinary fun in a two-story loft apartment. Paper cut-out illustrations show the felines with their faces up against the glass, gazing at birds on the sidewalk. Barron also portrays outside scenes from the cats' indoor viewpoint: racially diverse passersby looking in to wave hello to the cats, dogs on the pavement "do[ing] what dogs do" (i.e., pooping). Nori, Yeti, and Flo play with recently delivered boxes, bury their faces in their food during mealtime, bathe themselves while sprawled on the couch, and chase one another around the plants in the apartment. Upbeat, rhythmic verse sets a lively tone. The layers of paper and mixed media work to color the inside and outside worlds with equal depth and detail. Use of different angles shows the apartment and the outside city through multiple vantage points, from the floor beneath the couch where the trio hide from a delivery person to the elevated view of the city skyline from the upper windows. Readers are left with the sense that though these kitties never set a paw outside, their lives are nevertheless rich and vibrant.Pet lovers, especially feline fanciers, will smile at this slice-of-life depiction of indoor cats.(Picture book. 3-7)

PreS-Gr 1 —Three cats sit looking out the window of a busy city scene that includes cars, buses, bicycles, a person pushing a baby carriage, and even someone flying a kite from a nearby roof. In the course of the day, children wave hello, and the cats nap. A delivery person stops by, and the cats hide. A box appears, and the cats play, eat, and chase one another around, finally going back to looking out the window. In other words, it's a fairly typical day in the life of a cat—or three. Spare lines of rhyming text accompany the richly detailed illustrations, created with cut-paper collage. Some fun onomatopoeia—"The busy road rumbles, and mumbles and hums" and "ting ting, goes the spoon"—survives a few awkward rhymes, such as, "Outside the window/ wheels spin, legs stroll./ Dogs do what dogs do./ Little hands wave hello." Onlookers will appreciate the skill with which Barron has created such realistic scenes out of this medium; the cats have distinct looks and personalities, perfectly expressed in and captured by the illustrations. VERDICT Children will delight in looking for small details, particularly in the wordless spreads, of this lively story with special appeal to cat lovers.—Sue Morgan