This was an interesting take on the City Mouse , Country Mouse fable. Two cats get separated. Cleo is stuck in Egypt, while Cornelius sails away to Rome. When Cleo gets a chance to visit she learns that is is all about adventure. A nice story with great illustrations, and fun history facts at the end.

Cleo and Cornelius: A Tale of Two Cities and Two Kitties is a playful picture book depicting what life was like from the perspective of two cats living in the time of Cleopatra.

Cousins Cleo and Cornelius live a life of luxury in Egypt, but Cornelius is adventurous and hides away on a ship, wanting to know what experiences lie elsewhere. Cleo initially prefers the familiar comfort of home.

When boredom overtakes Cleo, he undertakes the same sea voyage and reunites with his cousin in Rome. Cleo and Cornelius learn that cats, while revered in Egypt, are not worshiped in Rome. Cornelius, adept at navigating the city, takes Cleo around to the Coliseum, Roman baths, and other familiar scenes before returning home to Egypt for the Bastet festival.

Even before reading the Note to the Reader, one may pick up that Cleo and Cornelius is reminiscent of Aesop's familiar story The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, albeit with a different outcome.

While the illustrations are colorful and engaging, I most enjoyed the factual information provided at the close of the picture book, including animal folklore, as well as images of the statues, coins, and jewelry from that time period.

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cleo and Cornelius is a very loosely based on The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse fable in which two cats from ancient Egypt travel to Rome. Along the way the reader learns some things about both places. I like fiction that weaves non-fiction in to the story and this does that pretty well. It is a very superficial look at both cultures but its not intended to be an in-depth analysis of an ancient city or culture.

This picture book was absolutely adorable! I loved the fact that it's based on true historical events as this made the story feel a lot more authentic. I think it's great for kids!

**I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC I received to read and review**

Cleo and Cornelius is a cute children's book based on one of Aesop's Fables. I have to admit, it's been years since I read any fables, so I didn't pick up on the connection at first. That's just me, though.

Anyway, Cleo and Cornelius tells the tale of two cats -- Cleo and Cornelius -- who live in Ancient Egypt being pampered and worshipped like gods. They have a good life...until Cornelius accidentally ends up sailing across the sea to Rome. Cleo, unhappy with how bored she is, sets sail on another boat to Rome so she can meet up with Cornelius, and then they can have ALL the adventures together.

The story is fun and educational, bringing a little bit of ancient history into the lives of children who pick up the book to enjoy. I liked how both cats had a good time in Rome, doing all sorts of exciting things. I think kids of all ages will like looking at the beautiful illustrations as well. The story is very short and easy to read. My three year old enjoyed sitting with me while I read it to him.

Overall, Cleo and Cornelius is a great book for kids who are learning to read, and for kids who just want a quick, fun read with a little bit of history thrown in for good measure. The only issue I had was the pdf didn't quite work right on my Kindle, so I had to download and install Adobe Digital Editions so I could read the story properly.

I give the story four stars!

The illustrations in this book are super adorable, I just wish the story would have been as engaging. Cornelius accidentally gets shipped off to Rome, and Cleo follows him. Rome is way different from the cats' home in Egypt, and dogs are the bosses there instead of cats. I'd have liked to see a little more about that., or about Cleo searching for Cornelius. Instead she finds him the moment she lands, and then they do touristy things together in Rome before sailing back home. Again, the illustrations are GORGEOUS, and the tour of Rome is great for giving a variety of fun pictures to look at. I just felt the story could have been stronger and more compelling. My four year old probably didn't have the same harsh critique as me though, haha.

I really liked this! I loved the historical background it gave at the end about cats and their intercontinental travels in the ancient Egypt/Rome days.

Not sure if the format just didn’t work on my kindle, but pages seemed to be jumbled.. Interesting concept of playing on tale of two cities and dogs vs cats in the high esteem/bias category. Just wished I could follow the story with the pictures.

Cute story about two cats that go on an adventure from Egypt to Rome and back again. The pictures are pleasing to the eyes, and the story is fun. I really enjoyed the "Note to the Reader" section which gave a little history on Rome and Egypt and the things that connect them (there's a few Easter eggs in the book too, that were fun to find and tie into this history).

A very cute re-telling of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Good book to use as an introduction to the cultures of Egypt and Rome. Also a good book read with your little one and hunt for different artifacts among the pages.

I love cats. I love ancient history (especially Egyptian and Roman). I liked this book, but I feel that childhood me would have LOVED it - it's a bit too simple (and full of facts I already know) to be enjoyed on an adult level. Cute illustrations, though!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I enjoyed this children’s book of one adventurous and one not so adventurous cats (even though he does venture out!!). The story is sweet and educational, and the illustrations and art is fantastic. Great for entertaining children while they learn as well! Win-win for a parent. I would definitely give it 4 Stars, as there is a little discrepancy between the age of the readers for Cleo and Cornelius, and the educational material provided. But overall, fantastic!

Thank you to #NetGalley and to the authors Elizabeth Nicholson, Janine Pibal, Nick Geller. #CleoAndCornelius #NetGalley

This is a short and simple retelling of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse published by Getty (known for their classical history collection). Here, we have two cousin cats who live a nice existence in ancient Egypt but are separated by a quirk of fate. The illustrations are quite lovely but the tale doesn't have much to it - anthropomorphic cats exploring Greek and Egyptian culture without much of a plot to tie it all together. It feels like a museum tie-in - something to keep kids interested in all the 'old stuff' in a museum.

Story: Cleo and Cornelius are cousins who are inseparable in ancient Egypt. When Cleo accidentally gets trapped on a boat to ancient Greece, he discovers a whole new fascinating world where dogs, not cats, are worshipped. Cornelius hops on board a boat and comes to his rescue - only to find out Cleo really likes it in Greece. Cornelius hops a boat home to Egypt and is glad his friend is able to stay and adventure in Greece.

The book has a lengthy end section about the historical aspects of the story as well as the inspiration fable. Discussions on Egyptian mummies and Greek society help young ones learn about the classical cultures of the past.

There were a few things that were detractors for me. For one, the story was very short and didn't really have much of a point. I would have liked to see an actual plot rather than a quick little set of vignettes. I also wish the cats hadn't been made anthropomorphic - it was jarring that we have a book about actual history but with very unrealistic cats. Yes, Cleo and Cornelius are quite cute - but that's on the illustrator and not the story writers. There's not enough meat on these bones to keep one interested.

The illustration work is quite lovely and worth exploring for that alone (since there really isn't much else to this paper-thin tale). The educational aspects are nice but really sabotaged but lack of story. It felt more like "Cleo and Cornelius take a walk through Egypt and Greece so we can learn about these cultures" rather than a retelling of an old fable that will keep kids invested in rereads. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Two very contrasting cats that live in ancient Egypt are the subject here – one has itchy feet, the other is perfectly happy with being pampered and idolised. There's not much of a story, but what we have is perfectly fine; there's not much text at all until a two-page essay regarding the story's origins and context. I liked the artwork – it put a lot of humour into the detail when it didn't strictly have to, such as the hard-done-by hippo; it also has specific things in it for us to find when scanning the pages the next time round. I don't think the book will have many rereads, but I can certainly see it coming off the shelf more than once.

My only fault with this book is that it wasn't long enough!! The illustrations are fantastic and I loved the uncanny relationship between the two pampered cats.

My download came through weird, so the pictures were sideways, but what I could see of this book it was very cute and colorful.

The copy I received was not formatted in a way that I could read this book very well. The illustrations were done very well. What I could read of the story (it seemed out of order), the story was cute and the one cat was adventurous, while the other cat seemed lazy. I look forward to reading this book once it is released and look forward to the next adventure of Cleo and Cornelius.

Cleo e Cornelius vivono insieme, serviti e sdorati: letteralmente, dato che sono gatti dell'Antico Egitto, trattati come dèi.

Finché un giorno il timido Cornelius non salta per caso su una nave, e l'annoiata Cleo decide di seguirlo dopo qualche tempo: ma la vita nella grande Roma è ben diversa, e solo i coraggiosi ne sono soddisfatti!

Gatti diversi, vite diverse: sono le scelte che portano Cleo e Cornelius a costruirsi un mondo su misura.

Illustrato in maniera deliziosa  e fornito di un preciso apparato storico a fine volume, Cleo e Cornelius è ispirato a quella che da piccola (piccola piccola, tipo due anni ;)) era la mia fiaba preferita: Il topo di campagna e il topo di città.

Un viaggio nel tempo e nello spazio, e insieme la scoperta che ognuno è diverso, e va bene essere avventurosi o essere più casalinghi: ma che per scoprirlo, bisogna provare.

Cleo and Cornelius are cousin kitties that live in ancient Egypt. When Cornelius accidentally sails to Rome, Cleo will embark on a journey in order to find her cousin. Together, the two kitties will discover fun and interesting thins to do around Rome, but they will also want to go back to Egypt and visit their own home. After all, there is no place like home! Or is it that there is no place like Rome?

Cleo And Cornelius is a wonderful adventure of two adorable little creatures. Loosely based on one of the most famous Aesop's fables, it narrates the story of two cousins who embark on adventures, discover knew things to do, and find what they want their place in the world to be. This story is a very fun and educating way for children to learn numerous things about life in ancient Rome and Egypt, and it is also a very amusing story. Cleo And Cornelius is definitely a very good read for children, strongly recommended for co-reading with parents!

I'm a ridiculous fan of re-tellings of old fables and fairy tales, so this re-imagination of "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse", originally told my Aesop, but instead using kitties was a big hit with me. Not only does the book tell the story from a different light, but it allows children to learn about the differences in ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, one of whom worshiped dogs, while the other worshiped cats. Children will also see that some are okay with being homebodies, while others thrive on travel and adventure, and it's okay to be either. The illustrations are colorful and catchy.

For older children, or even for parents reading with their children, the end of the book does go into more depth about the differences between the cultures, as well as the original story it's loosely based on, so there's more in depth education available in this children's book.