By Rob Scotton
Splat has a crush on a classmate who spends all day tormenting him, and it takes a homemade valentine for him to find out the teasing meant she liked him back.
Splat the Cat has a crush on a fluffy white classmate named Kitten, and Kitten spends the whole day making him miserable. She pulls his tail, sticks out her tongue, and won't give him the time of day. It's Valentine's Day, so Splat makes her a big, heartfelt card anyway, then has to work up the nerve to hand it over while a swaggering cat named Spike hangs around after Kitten too. Working up that nerve is the whole story, and it's funny the whole way. When Splat finally gives Kitten the card, he finds out the teasing was how she liked him back.
If your child thinks kissy love stories are gross, this is the Valentine's book to reach for, because it's really a comedy. Splat's feelings are enormous and swing from despair to delight over the smallest things, which is how a lot of young children feel too, so they may laugh with him instead of squirming. Rob Scotton's art carries a lot of it, all wild fur and saucer eyes doing the emotional work. And the idea that being teased can mean being liked is a handy thing to have laughed about before it comes up on the playground.