What I’m Reading: Mr. Puffball, Stunt Cat Across America, by Constance Lombardo

He’s back, baby! One of the greatest parts about having published even one book is the privilege it gives you of reading other authors’ work before it even comes out.

A year ago I had the great pleasure of reading Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars—and of talking with the author, Constance Lombardo, for the Mountain Xpress. And just this month I got an early look at the second book in the Mr. Puffball series, Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat Across America. And this star-struck feline’s story is still totally awesome.

In this second book, Lombardo’s characters return as distinctive and idiosyncratic as ever, except that now, instead of navigating the rarified atmosphere of Hollywood, Mr. Puffball and his best frenemy, El Gato, have been forced by circumstance to travel from California to Coney Island, stopping at points in between to film stunts for a demo reel. Throw in an adorable rival for El Gato’s attention and a fiendish plot to steal Mr. P’s career-making role, and you have more of the hilarious—and yet also humanizing—chaos, slapstick, and punning that made the first book such a winner.

Once again the illustrations work hand in hand with the story. Given a canvass the size of the USA, Lombardo gives every page the same soft satirical touches as before while also managing to reshape (perhaps permanently) the reader’s impressions of landmarks like Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and the Windy City. Readers who enjoyed the first book will love the second book just as much. And there’s still a third volume yet to come!