Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

McCarty (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Jeremy Draws a Monster) keenly observes a schoolyard crush in this charmer. The cover pictures Henry, an openhearted boy cat, sitting at his desk alongside Chloe, a coquettish bunny. Chloe wears a mysterious grin and a flowered dress of palest pink, and her long ears flop carelessly to one side (“He thought she was the loveliest girl in his class”). McCarty nails several aspects of grade-school life (Henry demonstrates his “best forward roll” to impress Chloe) and loads his compact sentences with meaning and longing. At one point, Chloe, who sits in the back row, coyly asks, “Are you looking at me?” as delicate wildflowers roar across the page, blithely encapsulating Henry's adulation. And in a playground game of tag, she taunts him from atop the jungle gym, “You will <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">never catch me!” McCarty crafts Chloe as a perfect flirt, who claims the blueberry muffin Henry has saved for snack time, and Henry as smitten and quietly hopeful. This gentle, pitch-perfect romance will have readers' hearts thumping with the thrill of first love. Ages 3–6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Jan.)

ALA Booklist (Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2009)

This slight story begins with a young cat, Henry, who wakes and dresses, walks to school with his brother and best friend, and then spends the rest of the day obsessing about, and wooing, Chloe, an adorable young rabbit. A textbook Romeo, Henry shows off his athletic ability, chases Chloe around the playground, and sacrifices his eagerly anticipated blueberry muffin snack for his beloved. Many boys will find this as unappealing as kissing (Henry doesn't manage to seal that deal), although a brief football scene provides some distractions from the romance. In addition, the quiet story may prove too subtle for its intended audience. Still, McCarty's delicately detailed ink-and-watercolor illustrations of anthropomorphized animals, set on open, creamy pages, are delightful, and children will recognize Henry's happy surprise when an unexceptional day turns suddenly into an exceptional one.

Kirkus Reviews

With precise figures placed in vignettes on a gorgeous creamy stock, McCarty tells a sweetly simple, utterly sincere schoolyard love story. Each with one of Mrs. Calico's blueberry muffins in his backpack, cat Henry, his older brother Tim and Henry's dog friend Sancho head off to school—where rabbit Chloe, "the loveliest girl in his class," sits in the back row, surrounded by a field of love-induced poppies. When, despite Sancho's advice ("You're not going to talk to a girl , are you?"). Henry approaches her at recess, a combination of acrobatics and a game of tag makes them friends. And when their teacher rearranges the class seating so they are next to one another, a snacktime carrot-and-muffin swap (with poppies festooned around them) cements the relationship. There's nothing sly or cynical here—just a celebration of the moment. (Picture book. 3-6)

School Library Journal (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

PreS-Gr 1 Henry the cat is in love with Chloe, the cute little bunny in the back row. On this particular day, his mother makes blueberry muffins for her sons to take for lunch, but Henry saves his for afternoon snack as a special treat. He is the typical little boy who is short on words but big on action. He does a forward roll to impress Chloe, but she bests him with an impressive cartwheel. Later, the teacher reassigns seats and Chloe moves up next to Henry. At snack time, she asks him what he has, and he shows her his big, beautiful blueberry muffin. Henry, who has yet to say a word to his favorite little girl, is surprised but pleased when Chloe thanks him and takes it. It seems that all is fair in love and kindergarten. McCarty's meticulous ink and watercolor art greatly extends the spare, understated text. The exquisite cream-colored pages bring richness to the presentation that makes readers want to turn each page. This beautiful book should appeal to the little ones who have a special someone in their lives but dare not say a word about it. Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA