One day, Jeremy wakes up at the vet’s with a giant cone around his head. In a momentary existential crisis, he resigns himself to his new role as clumsy, smelly Cone Cat. That is, until the cone becomes instrumental in lapping up the last few bites of cereal on the breakfast table.

Surprisingly, Cone Cat can do a lot of things old Jeremy couldn’t. He can hunt spiders with ease, collect stuffing from the couch, and disguise himself as a bowl to steal a scoop of ice cream at a birthday party. When the cone is removed the next day, Jeremy starts to miss it. Will he ever get another chance to indulge in the tricks he pulled off as Cone Cat? It doesn’t take him too long to find out …

With lively illustrations and plenty of wit, this hilarious picture book about adapting to seemingly im-paw-ssible situations is sure to please kids and cat-lovers alike.

SARAH HOWDEN is the author of several books for children, including 5-Minute Stories for Fearless Girls and Cone Cat. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and daughter and their two rambunctious cats. 

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Carmen Mok is a studio-art graduate of the University of Waterloo, and a crafts and design graduate of Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. Her books include Waiting for Sophie by Sarah Ellis, Look at Me Now by Carol McDougall and Shanda LaRamee-Jones, and Ride the Big Machines in Winter. She recently illustrated Grandmother’s Visit by Betty Quan, which was named an Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature Picture Book Honor Title, was on the shortlist of the IODE Ontario Jean Throop Book Award and was selected for the Ontario Library Association Best Bets List. Carmen lives in St. Catharines, Ontario.

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• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens

"Anyone who has ever had a pet in “the cone of shame” will appreciate this silly story."

Youth Services Book Review

"Jeremy and his Cone friend are awfully funny! ... It is an imaginative look for a silver lining to a humiliating situation for the cat."

Kiss the Book

"The morals of adapting to change and making the best of a bad situation are sure to resonate with all young readers."

School Library Journal

"Jeremy is an Everycat’s cat, prone to sulky faces, yogi-esque licking, and couch-clawing... [his] discovery that his hated cone might have its benefits is a casual lesson in making the best of a bad situation."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This amusing, essentially one-joke tale should resonate with cat-loving kids and families."

Kirkus Reviews

"Funny depictions of a cat and his cone. One day a nimble and free-roaming cat; the next, caught in the cone of shame. Or is it such a shame? Leftover milk and cereal are much more tippable with a head cone and when the person with the ice cream scoop is a little preoccupied, a cat in a cone is in a perfect position for dessert! And spiders are much easier to corral for a first taste (but maybe that was best left as an experiment for others). Cone Cat was really fun!"

René Kirkpatrick, University Book Store, Seattle WA

"Here’s a worthy companion for Nick Bruel’s Bad Kitty, Jack Gantos’ Rotten Ralph, and other perversely lovable feline bad behavers."

Booklist

"Cone Cat is not preachy in any way, but it could lead to some interesting conversations about how not everything that seems bad has to be bad... Cone Cat is a delight."

Canadian Review of Materials

"Readers will find it hard to resist the prickly charms of this expressive sourpuss."

Publishers Weekly