Construction Kitties

Four indisputably cute overall-clad kitties don hard hats and hop into colorful earthmovers to dig, move, push, and smooth dirt at a construction site. At midday they take a lunch break ("Tasty sardines. / Cool milk"), and when the job is done, they head back home, purring and singing down the "long, winding highway." In case listeners haven't already guessed, the project is revealed on the back endpapers: it's a playground, of course, now filled with happy kittens. Halpern's irresistible gouache illustrations do the heavy lifting here, channeling Byron Barton's style (strong black lines, rich hues) but with more subtlety of color. Sturges's spare, energetic narrative provides commentary on the action, and the pictures make the most of the simply outlined scenes. With its bold images and straightforward text, Construction Kitties would make a good storytime choice. kitty flynn