Hello, friends! Our book today is Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion, written by Stephen W. Martin and illustrated Dan Tavis, the silly story of one exceedingly cute kitty.

Fluffy McWhiskers is one cute cat… perhaps a bit TOO cute. You see, whenever someone lays eyes on her undeniable adorableness, they literally explode from cuteness overload. Fluffy tries to combat this by wearing an ugly sweater, giving herself a bad haircut, even wearing a bag on her head, but alas, all these preventative measures backfire – she’s even cuter than before. Making a few failed attempts to isolate herself, she finally finds peace on a deserted island; unfortunately, she finds that deserted islands are pretty lonely. That is, until the day she hears barking coming from the beach! Can she save her latest victim from cuteness explosion? Or perhaps… she won’t have to.

Hilariously weird. Flat out, this is a bizarre one with an oddly dark premise that somehow… works. Whether it’s Martin’s irreverent and deadpan text or Tavis’s hilarious artistic interpretation of the cuteness overloads – illustrated as smoky/inky clouds of rainbow dust – and visual gags, this very strange tale has a lightness of tone that overtakes any heavier implications of a cat so cute she causes literal death. The comedy works so well, from the dry jokes paired with outrageous artwork to scenes that come out of nowhere yet further the ludicrous plot in humorously expected ways (“The handwriting is so cute!” a fishing bear proclaims, reading a message in a bottle written by Fluffy, before bursting into the now-familiar visual of death-by-cuteness). The length is fine for storytime, but the tone may work better for slightly older elementary readers who will get the dry humor; that being said, JJ thought it was a riot. A wonderfully weird read, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)