Review Detail

Ruffles and the Cold, Cold Snow

Kids Fiction 48

Playing in the snow with tiny kittens!

November 10, 2024

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Ruffles is back, and this time, his five tiny kitten friends want to go out into the snow. It's rather deep, and Ruffles is absolutely not thrilled with it. He's ready to head back inside when the kittens jump down from the tree they were climbing and are stuck in snow that is over their heads! What is Ruffles to do? He doesn't really want to trudge through the snow, but he has to help his friends, he wades through the slippy, slidy, cold snow and roots the kittens out, carries them back to the house on his back, and snuggles up with them in his basket. Life is good... until the kittens find some yarn and want Ruffles to play with them.

Good Points

The illustrations are delightful, and Ruffles continues to do a lot of things that warrant individual pictures. My favorite page was the one where he rescues the kittens from the snow one at a time. The orange fur of the kittens really pops against the deep, deep white snow!

These books are such a delight, mainly because of the expressions on Ruffles' face, as well as the pictures of him doing various activities. The kittens are wonderful as well, and Ruffles is very patient with them in a way that probably speaks more to the adults who read these books than the toddlers to whom they will be read. I rarely buy books, but I feel an overwhelming need to have ALL of the Ruffles books for my very own. Since this has snow, and I'm apparently a sucker for any book involving snow, I will definitely be on the lookout for this one.

Somehow, these books remind me of Pryor's 1980s Baby Blue Cat books, but are also a good choice for readers who enjoyed Pettey's Don't Trust Cats, Greenwald's The Rescues, and even Higgins' early chapter books, the Good Dog series.