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Reviewed by Hilary Hawkes for Readers' Favorite
I Liked You Much Better When You Were Outside by Stefani Milan is a short, entertaining, and sweet little story about a cat who has to accommodate the arrival in his/her home of a second cat. They first meet when the cat notices a black cat outside and they “trilled and they talked ‘til the moon shone bright.” Then the black cat begins to explore the house and moves in too – settling into the cat basket, finding the food, and even the dog seems to like the black cat. The first cat feels thoroughly put out – but maybe they can be friends after all.
Written in short rhyming verses with simple, charming illustrations by Matt Williams that give the cats lots of character, this is a lovely story to share with a young child. Small children will love the gentle rhyming and the humor in Stefani Milan’s story. I can see them asking for this story again and again and joining in with some of the rhymes. Although this might be a tale of two cats, the emotions experienced and expressed by the first cat make this an opportunity to talk about feelings – particularly, perhaps, feelings of being left out or overlooked or even jealousy. There can be all sorts of situations small children experience when they might feel, initially, just like the first cat in the story – the arrival of a new baby in the family for example. There is a lovely lesson here too about friendship, tolerance and love, and how much better it is when we decide to share and get along with others. A warm, funny and gentle story to share with young children.
