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.

This is an interesting book. At its core, the book offers whimsical musings from George the cat’s point of view, capturing small moments of stillness and quiet observation. Through George’s slow, contemplative moments, readers are reminded to appreciate everyday stillness and quiet love. This could be fitting lessons for kids or a good reminder for adults.

However, it is more a series of vignettes than a continuous narrative. This lack of cohesion was frustrating as a reader as it felt loosely assembled and unfocused with no overarching storyline or clear progression. There would be pages that seemed to go together, but the whole book didn’t.

The artwork has a cozy, minimalist aesthetic that charms at first glance. The soft pastel palette and simple character designs invite quiet reflection alongside George. My immediate thoughts were the artwork was extremely cute and there were so many pages I even wanted to screenshot as a phone screen wallpaper.

However, upon reviewing other reader’s reviews who looked deeper at the artwork than myself, many noted multiple illustrations show inconsistencies suggesting AI-generated art (e.g., misplaced ears, missing tails, additional limbs). I don’t know the truth, but it does make you question, which reduces my enjoyment of the book.

While I do think this was cute in theory, the concerns many readers brought up are valid. I would have loved this book to be perfect so I could give it the 5 stars I’d love to give any cat book!

This is such a cute book . Much needed after reading any heavy topic books.

Even though I don’t own any pet or cat. I always feel that cat is one of the loyal animal . Read this one truly amazed how George even he’s just an animal but it more understanding , giving joy and hope true its cute characters .

I enjoy reading this one . Thank you for the eARC in return with my honest thought or review .

The art is really cute, but the personification of the cat throws me off. It's possibly meant to be whimsical and comforting but it's so non-cat like.

This book was okay, but cute. I couldn't really read it entirely because the formatting was all messed up, which was kind of disappointing.

It was a great book! Super easy to read, very cozy and good for children to understand. As an adult you can also take a moment to think about this, I have a cat and had never thought about this! It's amazing, super well written and the pictures are next level. It's hard enough to write a book, but to also illustrate it? I applaud you, you did both so well. 5 stars.

I thought this book would be a good read one night when I was having trouble sleeping. The cover was cute and the description had me pulled in. However, that was where the enjoyment ended. The structure is not cohesive and the book varies between poems and notes. It almost feels like I’m reading someone’s notebook of observations about their own cat, but it wasn’t fleshed out enough for other readers. Like others have mentioned, I am also concerned about potential AI generation of the images. There is no illustrator mentioned, and the about the author page does not mention artwork.

"What George Thinks When He Sits Still" is an unique, super sweet looking childrens book about a cat (George) and their thoughts. It's so cozy and lovely, it calmed me down like nothing else did!

I thought this was really cute. I saw that there is some controversy with whether this was written by AI. I hope it wasn't because it is sweet and has a good message.

I thought the artwork was cute. That's about the only positive I can think of though. The theme of "sitting still" did not seem to be the sole focus of the writing, which was kind of all over the place, even for a children's book. I didn't necessarily agree with the central theme being "sitting still" tbh. The story was also quite repetitive and switched from first person to third person about halfway through. I couldn't say for sure if the images were generated with AI or not. I won't comment on that. So overall, I give 3 stars for potential.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn in by the adorable, cozy, cover art of What George Thinks When He Sits Still. and even more so by the description. A graphic novel based on a cat’s thoughts as he moves through the day — what more could you ask for?! The illustrations throughout were so very cute. I loved how you were inspired to appreciate the small things in life and find beauty in the unexpected through George’s point of view. However, the story was lacking a flow. It seemed as though it jumped from repetitive pages, to completely unrelated topics as if pages were missing.

Overall the concept of the book was very cute and I think it will be enjoyed by a young audience as well as cat lovers of all ages.

There is no place for AI in creative spaces.

I love cats and the description made it seem like it was going to be a lovely cozy read. Unfortunately, I am disappointed. The "tender, beautiul illustrations" have been made with some help from a plagiarizing engine, also known as AI. Generative AI doesn't create anything on its own - it relies on stolen images. What's more, it uses an insane amount of water and electricity. Using generative AI is highly unethical and not disclosing the fact that it has been used to create a book is straight up manipulation. Readers have the right to know.

I saw some reviews that are defending the book and saying that those weird illustrations could just be human errors. But the thing is, those aren't the types of errors that a human makes. Why would an artist intentionally draw a cat with five legs? We are surrounded by AI 'creations' on daily basis and in order to survive we learned how to differentiate them from genuine art. There are tell-tale signs of AI usage and they are present in this book. I am not saying that everything in this book ingenuine and artificially created, but unfortunately many of the featured illustrations seem to be.

It really is a shame, because the concept and message about the magic of quiet moments is quite nice. I also liked the "Cat Notes" section at the end, which talked a bit about science of real cat thoughts.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still opens with promise with a cute note from the author. However, within the first couple of pages it becomes clear that this book was written and illustrated using AI. The images are cut off in places, and the writing is inconsistant to the point of confusion. I am disappointed.

I was really enjoying this book—a cozy and relaxing read that teaches you to appreciate the little things in life in a world that’s always in a rush. However, I read a review that said the illustrations were made with AI, and as I kept reading, I realized there were indeed some odd things: on some pages the cat had three legs, on others five, sometimes an ear was flipped the wrong way... And yet, nowhere did it say that AI was used. Honestly, I think profiting from AI while claiming it was lovingly illustrated by a human is deceiving the reader.

A gentle, adorable micro-read that, while appealing to cat lovers with an absolutely cute cat to stare at, reminds us that the simplest moments of life can be treasured and can be sources of joy. Be like George: stay still, and you'll find there's so many little things to appreciate in life.

Thanks to Netgalley and Chantilly Cat Press for providing with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Copy received via Netgalley]

This is a very calm and quiet picture book centered around a cat's day to day life of looking at insects and birds, lying in rays of sunshine, and feeling loved.

I enjoyed the clean illustrative style of the author and the many pages without words where we're invited to just sit still with George and enjoy the illustrations. The structure felt a bit meandering and unequal, with some parts a bit heavier on text and some parts heavier on illustrations. I think I would have enjoyed a bit less text, as sometimes it was pulling me out of the meditative state the rest of the book.

I think the eBook version suffers a bit from not allowing us to see double pages next to each other, but that might be an unavoidable peril of the format. I might get a paper version so that I can share it with my niece once she's old enough.

I would have liked to learn more about the author or buy reproductions of her art to put in my reading journal but couldn't find anything sadly.