Long Tail Kitty Series by Lark Pien

The Long Tail Kitty series chronicles the adventures of Long Tail Kitty (LTK) and some friends including Bernice the dog, Frances and Tony the cats, Good Tall Mouse, ET Friends, and Big E the elephant. LTK’s adventures include getting stung by a bee, eating with friends, hanging out with new friends, a magic rowboat experience, Big E’s birthday party, and getting lost in a forest.

Reading Level: 5-8 years old

This series is goofy and would appeal to younger readers. It consists of two books that take the reader to the fictional world of LTK and friends. It is definitely for fun reading rather than educational enrichment. If your child prefers silly banter, responses, and easy to understand images, it may be something he or she would enjoy. These books do not really follow a plot, so if your child likes to see how things come together, he or she most likely will not appreciate the series. The humor is more on the unintelligent side of the spectrum (silly words said in responses such as “graah” or “slobbah”) compared to sophisticated joking, which is something to consider. The illustrations are very approachable to a younger audience and do not give much detail as to faces or character’s bodies (eg. Good Tall Mouse has two big yellow eyes without pupil the majority of the time). Even so, the author will put a question mark or text bubble to indicate what the character is thinking.

One thing to note is that none of the creatures appear either male or female. The only character that is referred to as gendered is Frances the cat. Also, Big E loves magic, and magic is mentioned multiple times (see below). There was one scene in which some friends were stargazing, and they exclaimed, “We are one with the universe,” which is obviously not consistent with a Biblical worldview. God tells us there is clearly a distinct Creator and His creation, and humans are made in His image unlike other aspects of creation. Additionally, one small comic moment shows the friends getting their fortunes told by a fortune teller. Divination in any way, shape, or form is certainly not an activity Christ followers should be engaging in or promoting, and this is done so subtly in a small comic area that parents do need to be aware this is mentioned. All in all, this might be a fit for some families, but there are many things to consider prior to landing on this series.

Language:
Gah, geez, dagnabbit, bum is used for bottom, “wee” for needing to go to the bathroom, teeny weeny thing.
The flowers call a bumblebee greedy, grumpy, and goofy-looking.

Questionable Behaviors:

In the second book, there are two pages showing LTK and the ET alien friends doing different
activities. One activity is going to a fortune teller who sees in their future they will have pimples.
Another activity is getting “totally tattooed” but these look to be stick ons.
Big E elephant really likes magic and talks about traveling places with the help of magic. The
friends go to a magic show on a rowboat, and they also ride on a magic carpet.

Sexual Content:
LTK tells Tony that Frances likes Tony. Francis calls Tony a “cute red kitty.” Tony then believes
Francis likes Tony.

This review was written by Good Book Mom contributor, Emily. To learn more about Emily, click HERE.