Gracie's Book Nook September 2017: Gracie Learns To Count This summer suddenly got hot. Really hot. I counted and counted. 10 degrees hotter, 20 degrees hotter, holy hairballs ... 30 degrees hotter! It got over 100 degrees outside! That's about 40 degrees, for all you Celsius users out there. I had to keep cool, so I grabbed a book and parked my long, thick fur covered self next to a floor vent that was blasting out cold air. While at the cooling spa, I refined my counting skills with Counting With Tiny Cat by Viviane Schwarz (Candlewick. 9780763694623). Now, I must have been the muse for Viviane Schwarz who penned this wonderful book because Tiny Cat bears a striking resemblance to yours truly! You see, I am very petite, fluffily furred in a lovely gray, and have little, but sharp, fangs, just like the cat in this book. In fact, when Tiny Cat's count reaches four, I thought I was looking at a picture of me, pointy side up. Tiny Cat is so adorable that no additional background illustration is needed. The drawings are just of Tiny Cat and the balls that Cat is counting. I'm not sure if those are toy balls, yarn balls, or hacked up hairballs that are being counted. I especially like toy balls. It's so much fun to knock all my balls and mousies far under the furniture just to see my people flat out on their stomachs, arms stretched really far under the heavy couch or chair, muttering incoherent nonsense under their breath. No matter. I caught on to this counting thing quite fast. My lady person didn't seem all that impressed when I gave her something to count ... one, two, three poos outside my litter box, right next to her bedside table. In fact, she got all worried that I wouldn't use my box any more and ran out and got me a huge new litter box, new litter, and a fancy new under-litter-box liner. So, I sauntered off to find Food Guy. Food Guy was sure to be impressed with my counting prowess. Why? Well, Food Guy is also Mr. Fancy Mechanical Engineer and deals with numbers, math, and counting all the time. This book is to teach little people how to count. And big people seem so impressed when little people learn how to count. So, I figured the big people would be especially impressed and mesmerized by an adorable, intelligent cat (me), who can count, without using her fingers and toes, no less. So, I strolled right up to Mr. Fancy Engineer Food Guy and, Hork! One fur ball. Hork! Two fur ball. Hork! Three fur ball. Hork! Four. I sat there, giving Mr. Fancy my best 'aren't I the most adorable thing you've ever seen?' face, so very proud of myself. But he just sat there, horrified at the mess I had made. Apparently no one around here has any respect for my talents. Little kids can count their fingers and toes and everyone thinks that they're brilliant. Big deal! You humans have no respect at all for the talent it takes to count self produced hairballs and poo! Oh well, at least I got a new bathroom suite for my efforts. Gracie graciously shares her living quarters with Jessica Maguire and Food Guy. When she isn't counting and cleaning up hairballs, lady's maid Jessica keeps Gracie's bookshelf well stocked with plenty of books to read and a nice floor vent, which Gracie can cool her jets on. Mr. Fancy Engineer Food Guy is sure to keep the kibbles flowing and the carpets vacuumed and free from the ever horrifying cat hork. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.