Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jan. 1, 2003 (Vol. 99, No. 9))
A pair of jazz cats romance each other around the world in this handsome, nostalgic picture book. Red, a dapper tabby, meets Ginger, a "jazzy, snazzy" feline, at the Alley Cat's Meow nightclub. The cats boogie woogie across the floor, fall in love, and go on to dance together on stages across the world and even "on the silver screen." There's little story here, and the text, written in brief rhyming couplets, often feels forced. What's best are the large acrylic paintings that show the cats' wild costumes, gooey expressions of love, and, best of all, the cats' flying movement across the dance floor. This isn't a necessary purchase, but the colorful images and the story's romance may appeal to some young ones. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2002, Harcourt, $16. PreS-K.

Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
Red and Ginger cut a rug in The Alley Cat's Meow, a lively verse story by Kathi Appelt. Modeled on famed dance pair Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the two felines will waltz their way into the hearts of child and adult alike. Their meeting at a boogie-woogie juke joint, where Red debonairly signals for a glass of milk, seems straight out of an old movie. Appelt's jazzy text is as much fun to read aloud as to hear (a boon for parents). Jon Goodell's pictures convey well the joy of dancing, the grace of cats and the vital spirit of the city. 2002, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 3 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 17))
Earning stratospheric style points, Goodell (Andiamo, Weasel!, p. 1130, etc.) portrays a pair of high-stepping feline dancers who'd drive Astaire and Rogers to the sidelines. It's love at first twirl when tiger-striped Red meets elegant Ginger at the titular "boogie-woogie juke joint." "They jitterbugged and cut a rug. / They did the waltz and samba. / Their cat-trot was exceptional, / Magnificent! LCaramba!" On they sweep, to wow audiences from Broadway to Vegas, on the silver screen, in Paris, Brazil, and Havana. In each setting, not only are they posed with joyful expressions and irresistible exuberance in mid-fling, but their clothes are magnficent: elegant tuxes or deceptively casual dress for him, splendid ruffles, liquescent silks, and luxurious furs for her. Paired to a toe-tapping rhyme from Appelt (Poems from Home Room, p.1214, etc.), this happily-ever-after terpsichorean triumph will leave readers of any age breathless. 2002, Harcourt, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 7 to 9. © 2002 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.