Review: Scratchie by Maria Putri

SCRATCHIE

A Touch-and-Feel Cat-Venture

by Maria Putri

Little Simon

May 14, 2019

Board Book / Senses

24 pages

ages 3 to 5

Sharpen your claws—and scratching skills—with this adorable touch-and-feel book about a cat who loves to scratch everything…and wants you to join the fun!

Hi there, human!
I’m Scratchie the Cat
and I like to scratch stuff
to keep my claws super sharp.

Let’s scratch things together!

Join Scratchie the Cat to scratch touch-and-feel elements throughout this story. Rough door mats, grainy wooden tables, paper towels, cardboard boxes, and more give readers a claws-on experience as they innocently wreck Scratchie’s owner’s house (just like real cats)!

With touch-and-feel elements on every page, Scratchie even has the perfect ending, because there’s one more thing that loves to be scratched…Scratchie the Cat!

 MY TIDBITS

Scratch, feel and glide are called for in this book which allows young readers to feel and discover surfaces right along with a cute cat, Scratchie.

Scratchie introduces itself to the reader, human, before going on an exploration of all the things that it tries to scratch. The surfaces vary and are introduced in a way that readers can test them right along with Scratchie. The ending is sweet and leaves happy thoughts.

I've always been a fan of books which allow kids to do more, especially for the intended age group of 3 to 5. It draws kids in to experience reading on a whole new level while allowing them to explore. Scratchie is the perfect character for this adventure. The cat is cute, sweet and carries just a smidgen of attitude, giving off a nice, feline atmosphere.

The illustrations are simple and bring across just the right amount at the right time. Scratchie comes across sympathetic and will have young readers wishing the cat could jump off the page and join them. That said, the 'feel' objects were a bit of a disappointment. While a couple were spot on, others didn't feel anything like their real counterparts. Even little ones will notice.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this one, as did my kids, and hope Scratchie goes on more adventures, we also hope a pay a little more attention will be paid to the examples in the future.



And here she is...
Maria Putri is an illustrator born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is passionate about colorful storytelling featuring charming characters, as well as crafting knick knacks and designing toys. Her love for animals is what inspired her to write Scratiche, her very first book, starring a cuddly yet mischievous black cat.