When we get too impulsive, we can really mess things up. We can get too hyper and break something. We can say the wrong thing on impulse and hurt somebody’s feelings. Or we can think we’re helping when we’re really making things worse.
In my experience, this impulsivity has caused a lot of guilt and shame. But in the case of Catastrophe, the cat protagonist in Catastrophe and the City by father and son author team Stephen and Arlo Baer, he remains unphased by his actions, making a potentially disastrous experience charming and exciting. Below is my review of Catastrophe in the City followed by an interview with the authors.
Catastrophe in the City plot summary
Catastrophe is a house cat owned by the Jarls family which includes sons Emerson, Henry, and Leo. One day, Catastrophe jumps on a table of food during a party that the Jarls family is hosting, prompting them to place Catastrophe in Henry’s room for the remainder of the evening.
Unaware that he has done anything wrong, Catastrophe escapes out an open window to find another party to liven up. He hears music outside and follows it to its source.
Throughout the course of the book, Catastrophe chases a mouse, steals a fish from a truck, visits the park and a factory, and disrupts an artist at work among other mini adventures. When he’s had enough fun, he heads back home to the safety of the family who loves him despite his rambunctiousness.
The story
Catastrophe in the City is a fun adventure book for kids that takes the unreliable narrator trope and spins it on its head. Though told in the third person, the narrator appears just as oblivious to Catastrophe’s actions as Catastrophe himself. However, it’s obvious to even young readers that Catastrophe lives up to his name, and it can be fun to point out what the reader sees that our hero doesn’t.
Set in New York City, the story takes us on an adventure with Catastrophe near some famous landmarks and interactions that are closely associated with this big city life. However, it doesn’t have that overwhelming feel that a lot of stories with small protagonists tend to establish. Catastrophe is never lost or scared. Instead, he moves swiftly from one adventure to the next.
The characters
Catastrophe is the main focus of the book, and everyone else is a background player in his larger adventure. Everyone from the Jarls family to the strangers he meets on the street are unintentional victims of his playful, enthusiastic nature.
Catastrophe believes he’s doing everyone a favor by livening up their experiences. Yelling, loud noises, and the destruction of personal property doesn’t seem to phase him. He always puts a positive spin on what happens in front of him, making what could easily be spun into a tale of shame and guilt into a funny, finger-pointing situation that I found refreshing.
The story has the feel of an old Saturday morning cartoon without the spoon-fed message or low moment that turns into a teachable moment. Some stories should just be fun, and this one is.
The illustrations
The book’s illustrations by Yeng Yang are the perfect complement to the story. The rounded shapes of the characters and settings mixed with the wide-eyed unintentional victims juxtaposed with the beady-eyed Catastrophe help to add to the energy and action of the story. From floating music notes to crashing drum kits, the story comes to life in its illustrations.
The color palette is muted yet still colorful. The backgrounds are not heavily detailed, but there is enough to explore with each turn of the page, from the fender bender caused by Catastrophe chasing a mouse down the street to the video game controller poster on Henry’s bedroom wall, the illustrations give the story personality and backstory.
My recommendation
I recommend Catastrophe in the City to any late preschool to early elementary school readers who love funny, energetic books about animals, or even just about characters who don’t always make the right choices. They’ll love calling Catastrophe out on his hijinks, and new readers will appreciate the easy to read sentences with repeating words on each page that sound like they’re coming from a cat’s point of view rather than a redundant technique to help them memorize new words.
My rating
An interview with Stephen and Arlo Baer
When you start a new story, what comes first: the plot, the main character, or the message?
For this book, the idea of a cat who got into all sorts of trouble came first. And of course, the natural name for this cat would be Catastrophe.
What made you decide to feature an animal as your main character? What are your personal histories with animals?
Cats are curious creatures. We thought it would be fun to look at the world through the eyes of a cat in comparison to the way their actions are viewed by the people around them.
Is Catastrophe based on a real cat?
It isn’t. Ironically, we are allergic to cats so the closest we could get to a cat is to create a fictional one.
There are some very prominent depictions of New York City featured in this book. Did you give this direction to the illustrator, Yeng Yang? How did you collaborate with the illustrator to help the words and pictures flow cohesively?
Stephen and Yeng have worked together for the past few years. Stephen, a native New Yorker, asked Yeng to begin with a few landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park. From there, she built the rest of the city.
At no point does Catastrophe seem to realize that he is causing mischief from scene to scene. At what point did you decide to keep Catastrophe unaware of his actions versus having him be completely aware and shameful or only become aware of them towards the end of the story?
We thought readers would find Catastrophe’s blunders more amusing if we combined well intentioned actions right next to complete turmoil caused by his decisions. This idea stems from Curious George, one of our favorite series. You want to love this character, no matter how much trouble they get into.
Do you have a personal experience of unintentionally causing a catastrophe? If so, how did you handle it? What advice do you have for kids about what to do if they cause a catastrophe?
We (Stephen and Arlo) both like pushing the limits. We like exploring and we like trying new things. But we’ve created a few catastrophes along the way. We want to learn as much about this world as we can and we want to leave a positive mark along the way. When we create innocent turmoil, we do our best to make things right, and learn from our experiences.
Do you have a favorite page?
We like pages 25-26 because it shows the emotional impact catastrophe had on each of the people he helped that day.
If you could have anybody read your book, who would it be?
Hands down, Tina Fey. We love her sense of humor and can only imagine she would deliver the sentiment of this book perfectly.
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I do not have a pet.