I received an electronic ARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley.
Charming story about a child who thinks in a unique way. Their name is Meow though they are not a cat. I appreciate the cat offering commentary throughout the story. On a visit to the zoo, the other kids and teacher come to appreciate how Meow thinks and plans. Brightly colored illustrations and a fun read to open dialogue on everyone's special gifts.

This is a cute book about a kid who pretends to be a cat. I think kids of all ages will like this because every kid has pretended to be an animal at one point in time.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* funny little book, the story and art style is very cute as well!

I was really enjoying this book until it seemed to end in the middle of the story. Our main character is called Meow. They are not a cat, but everyone calls them Meow. Probably because they act like a cat. This was a fun romp with the main character stating that they do not like being like everyone else, and doing what everyone else does. It is very fun and imaginative. The ride is wild, and ends with Meow being surrounded by monkeys and other kids. But the book ends there. They decide to still not act like everyone else. I guess from the pictures the reader is supposed to infer that they all decided to party, but from the story side it just ended. No words to get from angry beings surrounding Meow to everyone following Meow. The ending just doesn't work for me. But the first half is a riot to read.

I like the approach here, defining this child by actions and interests rather than arbitrary elements like gender. It certainly has it's place in a collection.

I have a very split opinion of this book!
On one hand I completely agree that a child shouldn't just go with the flow and conform to society so to speak, but on the other hand you should be listening to the adults around you and not always doing your own thing.
I didn't really understand this book either and found the ending a little too out there for me, so feel a small child may bit understand it.

Meow is not a cat, but a young child that moves to their own beat. When told to go right, Meow consistently goes left. Paying attention and following the rules are not something that Meow will do. Though it is good to be a leader, will not paying attention cause more harm than good for this young child?

Although I agree that it is good to teach children how to make decisions and follow their own path, I am not sure that this book sends the right message. Doing what you want is all well and good, but being reckless like Meow is a sure-fire way of getting hurt in the process. My kids are all grown now, but I would not have read this book to them without a lesson on how not to be like Meow. The illustrations are a bit whimsical, but not consistent from page to page. For the reasons listed above, I would be hesitant to recommend Meow Is Not a Cat to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Meow Is Not a Cat by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to review this children's book was entirely my own.

This was an adorable book that my son really loved. We both appreciated the interactions between the cat and the little boy and it gave us a good laugh!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Books Go Social for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. I am not a child and I was totally confused by the ending. I have no idea if Meow (who is not a cat) is a boy or girl. It is irrelevant to the story? The story-I am not sure what the story is or the message they are trying to give. I agree that it is okay to be different, but to completely ignore a teacher is not okay. Bad behavior is different from not conforming. I liked the graphics and I liked the cat companion. The rest was HMMM what is happening? Why did Meow take all the bananas from the monkeys when the purpose of the trip was to feed the monkeys? No idea what the last page was all about at all. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Sad to say. 2,5 stars But again I did enjoy the illustrations. So if I had this book, I would make up my own story.

I'm not entirely sure what the goal of this book was. If it was supposed to be a romp through the absurd, just for the fun of it, then I suppose it achieved its aim. It was definitely irreverent and full of silliness. I appreciated that the protagonist (who appears female but it's never explicitly confirmed) was mostly confident in their sense of self.

That said, instead of affirming that all people have different styles, the main character seems to chide or judge other students who prefer order and routine. They refuse to follow even the most basic directions or norms, even when it causes chaos or harm and it's never really addressed how that actually plays out. Instead it just...ends in a dance party?

There is definitely space to make the point that some people march to the beat of their own drummer and, by working together and accepting each other, we can make room for everyone to fit in. That nuance seems to be lost here, and instead I'm just confused as to what we're supposed to get out of the story. I definitely wouldn't discourage a child who picked out this out on their own, but I wouldn't bring it into my classroom.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

"Meow is Not a Cat" by Kelly Tills was an easy read to breeze through on a day I was bored. I'm nowhere near the target audience, since I'm neither a child or a parent but I found it mediocre compared to other books marketed the same way. However, it's quick and hilarious, so I can see this being an enjoying read for, say, a four-year-old child.

This book was cute! I liked that Meow is a gender-neutral kid (meaning kids who tend to focus on the gender of characters can still relate!) who isn't ashamed to be who they are. The illustrations were nice, and young readers would most likely have a fun time reading or listening to this book!

That being said, I didn't really understand the ending with the monkeys, and while the description talks about stories with inclusion and diversity, there isn't much of that displayed in the book itself? All the kids look pretty much the same, and while there isn't any bullying, there is definitely a sense of frustration that the teacher has with Meow, because she doesn't know how to handle them. The conflict with the monkeys is magically solved at the end, which left me confused. There's a nice message in Meow not conforming to social norms just because it might make life easier, but given the fact that the monkeys were literally chasing them after all the bananas were taken by Meow (on a trip that's purpose was to feed the monkeys) there's the potential for kids to take the lesson of not listening to adults away from the book, as opposed to learning that they can be their authentic selves. I think there would need to be a discussion on what was okay and not okay in Meow's behaviour to solve that.

I've been reading this one with my niece and its super sweet!! It passes a lovely lesson about not be ashamed for being yourself, and for our children it's super important to know that it's okay not being like the other kids.. The illustrations are also so beautiful. We both liked it!

The set up
The premise seemed right up my street for a children's book - having confidence in being yourself.

Meow is a gender-neutral child who has to reiterate they are not a cat. Why they do so is baffling. Aside from the name, Meow does not resemble a cat, behave like a cat or claim they're a cat.
Perhaps it is assumption by association. A cat accompanies Meow everywhere, even on school trips. Although by the end of the book, I concluded that as inexplicable as it was, it must have been an invisible cat who could be blamed for Meow's wild behaviour.

This is a short book, so go into any detail would be a huge spoiler. Suffice to say in word, it's a 'meh' from me. To give further context - I didn’t get the storyline. The progression from one scene to the next is tenuous, the storyline wacky for the sake of it and there wasn’t any characters I could engage with.

This has nothing to do with the '90 yet...
It wasn't totally unenjoyable, the positives was the illustration which reminded me of early blocky Pokémon cartoons. Not sure if you were a fan or ever watched an episode, but they looked basic and bordered on terrible but somehow translated into a must watch show. Yes, every character looked the same, and somehow it didn't matter. I think the storylines helped, going on adventures, saving the world through dueling. And Pikachu was, no is the cutest.

Why cats rule
Digression over, which brings us to the cat companion, never named, whose expressive expressions were the highlight of this book. I'm a big fan of cats, and in my eyes - despite my curses - they can do no wrong even in their selfish oblivious way.

In writing that sentence it sums up why I'm on the fence about this book. When cats are poorly behaved you can blame the fact that they are a cat. There is no dispute about how clever they are, when mixing with humans and picking up human traits. However, cats are first and foremost cats. That will never change and cats will default to their natural behaviour in more circumstances than not.

Meow is a child and they appeared to conflate unconventional, free spirit and thinker with poor listening skills and badly behaved recklessness.. Being gender neutral seemed irrelevant to the story.

Your actions tell me who you are
Meow prioritised their need to do what they wanted, when they wanted often in direct opposition to authority figures or rational behaviour. Meow Is Not A Cat doesn't show the full consequence of rashly thought out ideas or impulsive actions. And that is an interesting example to provide to impressionable children. I believe in my longwinded way what I'm trying to say is the balance was in fun. None of what they (Meow) did seemed fun. Meow did the most bizarre things just or maybe only not to follow the crowd or confirm to society’s expectations.

I won't discuss the lack of diversity in this book because other reviews have mentioned it already and I really need to get out of the habit of writing long reviews for books that I'm not that interested in, would never recommend, nor read again. But I've started so I'll finish... eventually.

It is my opinion that Meow Is Not a Cat illustrates a point of view where your cause - in this case gender is the most important construct of being human. Many others, and I cite myself in that number would disagree.

Meow Is Not a Cat is ok and by ok I mean the following: Yes but no, I didn't get it, and maybe that ok, because I'm not the child this book is aimed at.

My thanks to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book

I read Meow Is Not a Cat to my 4 year old son and we both loved it. It tells the story of a child called Meow who is an individual and does not conform like the other children. I thought this was a lovely message for children to learn - just be yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my ARC.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This had cute illustrations and enough uses of the word butt to keep kids happy. I think the book didn't have a whole lot of story to it, so I don't think it will be a parent favorite. Cute enough though.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I rated this book 3.75/5.

I enjoyed this book and think that it would be very interesting for children. The illustrations are very nice to look at and I believe that they will catch children’s eyes. I liked that the main character - Meow is gender-neutral and doesn’t fit in lines. It will make kids understand that they don’t have to be like everyone else and that it’s okay to be different.

However, I didn’t really understand the ending of the situation with bananas and monkeys and what exactly it’s supposed to mean.

This is beautifully illustrated and I liked the concept, but I thought it would be confusing to children and teaching them to ignore what teachers say , free spirit or not it’s going to confuse little ones, there wasn’t much diversity other than a gender neutral lead, I did like it’s message it’s ok to be different but I would have liked more difference in the characters represented

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The importance of knowing the time/place to follow directions and what else everyone is doing or to do your own thing.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to read this book because the art seemed cute and it was advertised as diverse.
Spoiler, it was not.

Let's talk about the positive parts,
the art and the gender neutral look of our main character meow.

Now let's talk about the negatives, and there's a lot....
Every character was the same ethnicity, with the same look etc. Meow is a unique kid but the only thing unique about her is going against rules and what the teacher says. I work in a kindergarten and I was a very let's say spirited/dreamy child myself.
I did not like how this book advertised NOT to listen to grown ups and act silly and in a hazardous way. One can be unique and spirited without acting out. In many ways it felt as if Meow felt superior compared to other kids who played by the rules. Also there were no lessons to be learned at the end.

I would not read this book to the kids I teach.