This book was unorganized and chaotic. I was pretty disappointed in reading it.
There is no cohesion and I cannot make sense of it.
It was also way too long for a picture book about a cat thinking during the day. I kept expecting it to be over soon, but it ended up going around in circles, and maybe squares, and was a long, confusing ride.
Cute idea that is not well executed and unfortunately I would not recommend it.

Although the graphics were very lovely, I found the storytelling to be a little disjointed. I am not sure if this is an effect of reading it as an e-book versus a physical book. Some pages flip from 3rd person to 1st person, making it a little difficult to follow. There were a few instances of repetition between 2-3 pages, but with different art. There was one page with way different typography, and that threw me off a lot. But again, the art was cute and I want a few of the pages as wallpapers for my phone.

On the surface this is a cute children's book about George the cat who likes to sit still. Thematically and artistically, it's all over the place and could be for children but would likely appeal to more experienced readers. For one, the author occasionally uses words like "albeit," which children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade would struggle to read let alone understand. The art is also inconsistent, which could confuse younger readers. Some reviews note the use of AI, but I'm not familiar enough with AI-generated art to comment on this. I will say the prose is highly repetitive and doesn't tell a clear story, which may bore young readers. Lastly, the dedication gave me pause: "for every child who knows how to be still." I see what the author was going for but this statement feels very much like the old sentiment that children should be seen and not heard. I had high hopes for this book but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Well this is adorable. A very sweet story about a cat named George and his love for his human and the simple joys in life. I loved the illustrations and chosen color palette, it was very engaging and soothing. The story is a bit lacking and some pages are too wordy, but as a whole this was a lovely read for any age.

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. It’s an illustrated work that, at first glance, has potential. The illustrations are pleasant although, unfortunately, their repetitiveness tends to undermine the overall experience.

Unfortunately, the content of the book didn’t manage to captivate me. While there are some interesting ideas, the storyline doesn’t seem to have a clear direction or underlying meaning, leaving the book feeling somewhat aimless. The repetition in both the imagery and themes made the reading experience rather monotonous, and the overall feeling was that a lot of potential was left untapped.

Regrettably, I have to admit that the book didn’t evoke much emotion or leave a strong impression on me. I hope that in the future, the author will experiment a bit more with the narrative, giving more cohesion to the story and life to the illustrations.

In conclusion, while the book might appeal to a younger or less discerning audience, I can’t say it won me over.

I think this book has potential and has a really cute premise. But it’s overly wordy and didn’t keep the attention of its targeted audience (young children). When I read aloud the book to my 6 year old individually and a group of students ages 6-8, they were fidgeting and I ended up not finishing the book.

The images of the cat seem to vary, which makes me wonder if they were created using AI.

Thank you Chantilly Cat Press for a copy of What George Thinks When He Sits Still!

"In this tender, beautifully illustrated picture book, readers follow Georgea dreamy, thoughtful cat as he rests in sunbeams, watches the world pass by, and reflects on quiet moments."

A very cozy book for cat lovers! Cute and hopefuly albeit a little bit inconsistent. If George is real though, I just know he is so, so well loved.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is a meditation on what a cat might be thinking when he is sitting still either in a sunbeam or with his human.

Going into this, I thought this was a picture book, or a gift book and not over 100 pages long. The idea behind this book is a sweet one and with more editing, the text of the book could be stronger. It was very redundant. There would be a page about an experience and the next page would be a rewriting of the same thing the previous page held. There also seemed to not be a cohesive structure to the book. It's not poetry, which was fine, but it started out about a cat sitting still, then sort of wandered into different styles of writing and thoughts (still on the cat). In terms of the text, it could use more polishing, more editing, and more focus to be a stronger book. I do see the idea (and as a cat parent myself, I get a lot of these thoughts).

As to the art, it is hard to write on the art because it looks like the latest AI art trend, and unfortunately, there are many pages where it looks like AI and not drawn by a human. The page where it mentions human feet in a bed has an illustration of the cat at the foot of the bed, with feet sticking out, but no human head on the pillow or anything to denote a human is actually in the bed. This happened in both illustrations on this. There is also a page with a random tail coming out of the plant (somewhere in the outdoors section). There are also inconsistencies with the windows early on. George himself is not consistently drawn/imaged. It's clear he's an orange boy, probably a medium/long-hair, but he sometimes has stripes and sometimes does not. His eye style also changed a few times (I noticed this most with the moth and my guess is, he was supposed to be looking at the moth to hunt? It sadly came off as inconsistent art to me). In my mind, I compared this to a Pusheen gift book so George, no matter the years and designs drawn, should be consistent. We also don't necessarily need all the splash pages (like George outside, George with a bunch of hearts).

All in all, the text has promise and with more work with an editor of some sort (editor, writers group, etc), it could be a strong gift book. Unfortunately, the art looks AI so it will be a major turn off to readers who support illustrators (and sadly, the major AI artwork of the moment looks exactly like this and the inconsistencies in the art do not help). If this book is reworked in the future, and the artwork is clarified if AI was involved or not (or just another illustrator on the book), it could be a very strong book. This reader sees the potential (and it would be delightful as a picture book). As it stands, the intended audience is not very clear.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is adorable and cozy and full of sweet and cute illustrations befitting a little cat and their big mind. The text is, however, not very cohesive. At times seeming like a children’s storybook and others like an adult mindfulness text (albeit one of those that is simply a reminder to be calm and breath and not one of those informative texts) with random scientific cat facts near the end. Not quite sure who the intended audience is but I do think it’s perfect for all ages.

Honestly this is so cute. As I was reading it, I stopped so many times to take pictures of certain pages or read a section to my husband 😊

The illustrations are amazing and I said "oh my goodness I want this as a tattoo" SO MANY TIMES!

I seriously loved this so much and will totally be picking this up for my new grandbabies that are on the way!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute and sweet book about lessons that you might learn from a cat.

I was disappointed to learn that this book was created by AI because it was such a cute and wholesome read, as well as a beautiful ode to George. Now I'm wondering if the text is even original. I'd really liked the zen vibes and its theme of how love is quiet. Now idk.

While the book is cute, and I generally do enjoy books taking risks in their lay out, I was incredibly lost with what this book was supposed to be. It was just a little too scattered in what it wanted to be and say, and while the art is gorgeous and some of the sections are very sweet and charming, I think it's just a little to all over the place for me to feel like I can confidently sell it.

I have to say I loved the concept of this book, I did think the idea behind it was cute, the writing does help you think and stop to slow down. As a cat owner it was interesting to consider what my cat might be thinking in his quieter moments.

I do want to say that there were a few little bits here and there that did make me question if AI had been used to perhaps ‘polish’ or ‘replicate’ some of the author's original work. Now I have my own stance on AI but what I do feel would be better is if this was the case a little note added in the book so consumers and readers can make their own choice on if to read/buy or not. There were just some odd parts of the images, George’s tail coming out the side of a box when he is sat in it etc. that gave more of a generated/created by AI. Now to give the benefit of doubt this may just be an artistic error, of course those can and do happen, but if so I feel the book could do with maybe a bit more proof-reading.

That said the concept itself is cute and engaging. I think it was just some of the execution that needs work a bit more clarity about if any extra tools such as AI were used would help.

Cute, but very clearly AI illustrations, which I don't support. You can tell clear as day, because the cat randomly has extra paws, a tail that goes through a box, etc.

It's really upsetting that it says it's illustrated with love.

at first glance i thought i would love this. what George thinks when he sits promises cats, sweet drawings, a cozy aesthetic, slow living + appreciatimg the small things in life.

i was so excited to read this but the more i read the more my excitement slowly dwindled. instead of a flowing, cohesive story; this came off as individual pages featuring a short paragraphs with a matching photo. which is fine, I guess... but that's not what i was looking for. nothing made sense together, it was shallow, repetitive and i found myself confused.

the artwork at surface level is cute.
but taking a closer look the artwork was very inconsistent. i will give a few examples: <I> tea cups missing the string for the hanging teabag, cat ear on what looks like it's back, weird cat arm placement coming from his chest eating ice cream, only feet on a bed with the cat (no head in sight), cat in box but tail is outside the box.</I> i have seen many reviews accusing the author of using ai, while i won't say that, i do think that the artwork should be the same if not very similar throughout the entire novel. the fact that i can find so many discrepancies is disappointing. this needs another round of editing :(

♡♡ <I> arc review </I>

I loved this book! As a cat person, I highly recommend this book! It was fun to read and get a cat's perspective on life.

Sometimes, this weakness of mine always comes back to bite me. I see a cover with cats on it, I requested it, I regretted it.

Just from the very first page, I noted that the illustration itself seems off and it is further confirmed that this 'author' uses AI generated art. So, how desperate can you be? The lack of effort is glaring. If you are not skilled enough to create real art, passing off AI generations as your own is just pathetic.

This book was also supposed to be comforting and positive, following George the Cat who has big heart and big imagination. Now look where that imagination leads to... Nothing says ‘wholesome creativity’ like stealing the labor of real artists. How inspiring!

Even if this book had been illustrated by a human (which I think this issue would not exist if it actually a real person creating this), is still a hollow, lazy product. Just a parade of low-effort images padded with a few tokens' repetitive words. It is less a ‘story’ and more a paper-wasting pamphlet masquerading as literature...

We have completely lost the plot and things are just disappointing.

The art style is beautiful - the contrast and use of two colours throughout makes the designs pop. That said, there were some continuity errors and issues.

Genuinely upsetting to see a book on Netgalley using (alleged) AI. George looks different on multiple pages in coloring, patterns, and face shape, and is missing paws and a leg in others. That is something that a skilled artist would not do on multiple pages. Would love to support authors who appreciate and are passionate about supporting real human artists instead of AI. Seems counterintuitive to teach kids about stillness and enjoying the great outdoors when you use (alleged) AI that is killing the planet, so kids won't get to experience it. Do better.