This is a really sweet picture book with a lovely art style. It is very comforting to read, but feels a little disjointed at times.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for giving me an opportunity to review this cute arc! The illustration throughout the book was lovely. As a cat lover it was nice to see anecdotes and cat facts sprinkled throughout the book. It was what I expected. Side note: this book would be great as a colouring book.

This was such a cute read. I can literally relate so many things from it to my cat. They really are such gentle creatures and this book does a great job at showing it. Totally recommending it to everyone I know.

Cute but the writing is a bit awkward in spits which made it not as enjoyable as it could be. The artwork is beautiful though and very calming .

this was so beyond adorable and sweet! the art was stunning and serene. ill definitely be recommending this one to my friends and family who have kids and who are cat lovers!

As a cat lover and mom to two cats, I really want to love this book, but I don't. The illustration is adorable but repetitive at times, so is the writing. It lacks the depth that I hoped to see. Sorry.

This is a gentle and charming read with adorable artwork throughout. While the writing can feel a bit disjointed and repetitive at times, it’s still a sweet story. Don’t expect too much depth, but it makes for a pleasant one-time read.

Being a cat lover and someone who enjoys mellow reading experiences, "What George Thinks When He Sits Still" by Caroline Bell is exactly a book that I enjoy when I need to rest my eyes and my mind and just chill. The art is simple and in soothing colors. George the cat is fluffy and cute. It does get repetitious in both the text and the art and that might be something that others, like my son, who prefers more dynamics in his reading and visuals, would like. But for me, it is fine.

It isn't the most amazing read and it does go a little too long, but overall, it scratches the itch when I want to read something mellow and calming.

I think this is a cute idea and the illustrations are so cute! But I don’t think the poems make a lot of sense. Though let me say this is not my normal type of reading, so take that with a grain of salt. I think my favorite part about this is the illustrations because they are so cute! I love how its words then some pages of just illustrations. I think the font does change halfway through the book, though I am not sure. Overall this is very cute and a good book for children. I just think that the writing is a bit off for me. Thank you for letting me read!

This cat based quick reading book is cute. But with the amount of illustrations I think I would have savored the content more as a page a day calendar. A few pages, I would have liked to hang in my office or on the fridge.

This was incredibly cute and wholesome. The illustrations were so cute, and reading that Caroline Bell has been creating them for 15 years was very impressive - such talent!

I liked reading this mainly because it's about a cute little cat and his owner. However, this short book had quite a few different forms of literature in one book. The first part read somewhat like a story, but then it started to shift into poetry that, while it read very sweet and cozy, didn't make much sense poetically. There were also cat notes in it that looked like little tidbits of information. Since this was a quick read, I didn't mind reading it that much. The art was nice to look at, with some discrepancies, but had a warm and inviting color palette as well.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is an adorable book with lovely illustrations and a poetic message about love, quiet company and soft living. It's a short, but deep read inviting you to slow down, pause and smell the roses. Not so easy to do in the brutal, fast-paced world we live in.

This book is sooooo stinkin' cute! I immediately thought of my sister who loves her 9 cats and my daughter who is a cat lady in training with her three cats in our home! What a sweet gift for any cat lover! I love the simplicity of the story of George, a sweet indoor kitty who loves his owner and is grateful for the loving home she provides. I love to hear about the everyday beauty that George sees in everything inside his home and outside his window (Cat T.V.). The illustrations are adorable and cozy and I would love to see more of George in a graphic novel or cartoon series. He's so lovable!

This is such a sweet, tender book. The graphics are lovely, and the writing is very soothing. While primarily being an illustrated book about the thoughts of her cat, George, author Caroline Bell's words really leave you in a relaxed mood. The metaphors and word choices just feel cozy. I'm not sure if there's a better way to describe it. The book offers you a warm feeling, even if you just want to look at the cute illustrations of George. Some pages are repetitive, but I'd argue that they could also be viewed as meditative, if you're just slowly reading the book in your own company to slow your day down.

If you want something different to calm down any cat-lover in your life (you, yourself count!), I'd definitely suggest picking this up! I mean, there's a picture of George as a knight in here. I don't think you can get much cuter than that.

So many thanks to NetGalley and Chantilly Cat Press for the digital ARC!

And thanks to Caroline and George, who clearly have life figured out :)

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review posted to StoryGraph: June 20, 2025 (https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/87b94334-2236-4763-a2a9-3e4a2ee510c8)

I really wanted to love this! It looks so cute and fun from the outside but as I got into the book more I noticed a lot of issues.

The most obvious one being George! I don’t know what this cat looks like for sure because his fur, coloring, texture, everything about this cat changes multiple times. I don’t wanna accuse the author of using AI but I can tell that this art is very off and even some of the wording of sentences sounded weird.

I think it had so much potential to be a cute book for all ages but it needs an actual artist and better writing.

This is a cute cozy book about George. And if it weren’t for the fact the illustrations are all AI, I would have said that this would be a perfect gift for any cat lover. Unfortunately I don’t believe AI should be used in the creative space so I cannot recommend this book.

The cat looks different, sometimes look fluffy and sometimes sleek, sometimes has stripes, sometimes has blue eyes. The pose is the same in most of the pages, either sitting or laying down.

Thanks to the netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book is created using AI. Even if the art is not entirely AI-generated, proven by the inconsistencies in the cat character, one that seems to change entirely every few pages, or have questionably placed tails, paws and ears, the inconsistencies themselves point towards stolen art.

Intentional or not, it can be viewed as emotional manipulation to publish such a seemingly cozy, heartwarming book to readers who need a little rest and self-care in a cute book, when to the trained eye it is immediately and disappointingly clear that this book is created using shortcuts that immediately take away any authenticity and sincerity.

This is an eARC received from NetGalley, and this is unfortunately a very honest opinion.

EDITED BELOW

original rating 4/5 stars

Original review:

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is something between Graphic Novel, Children's Book and Poetry. Or maybe rather than existing in-between those categories it combines them.

The language is soft and easy to follow and can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. The art style is comforting, combining warm and soft colours and thus creating an environment of coziness and comfort.

The message that can be found throughout the book reminds us that beauty lies within the moment, and often can be found if only we remember to open our eyes. George invites us to reflect on those silent moments, which for me specifically often can be found cramped in the midst of day-to-day life.

Unlike my own cat (who is a very yell-y boy) George (who is a very brave knight) appreciates the quieter side of life and invites us to join him.

"George wonders where shadows go when the lights turn on. He thinks maybe they curl up behind the books, waiting for bedtime stories."

As I understand it, this book is self-published by the author. There are individual oddities to be found, such as George suddenly having 3 front paws. To be fair, I do believe everyone has found themselves in situations where an additional limb would've been more than handy, so rather than thinking of them as inconsistencies I enjoyed looking for them.

You can tell a lot of time, thought and love were poured into this and I hope George has many more still moments to enjoy and share with us.


I want to thank NetGalley and Caroline Bell (and George) for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.



EDIT:
Remember how I talked about oddities? Another review mentioned this was AI art. So after going back and looking at some of the (naively titled) "oddities" again, it's very obvious the author created the illustrations with the help of AI. I don't know to which extent AI was used, but there are multiple instances (feet and legs without torso/ head in bed, the 3 front paws, ...).

Looking back I am a bit embarrassed about thinking the 3 front paws were an honest mistake, because how would that even happen? Anyway. I checked what exactly the author said in their book/ NetGalley Info and they claimed "all illustrations lovingly created" by themselves.

While that isn't completely dishonest, I'd think it fair to mention the involvement of AI. Revaluating my review with this new information leaves a somewhat bitter taste, considering that the obvious AI-mistakes found within the art weren't even bothered to be corrected. This could leave the impression of some hastily thrown together work or not valuing honesty with your readers. So please make up your own mind regarding that issue.

Because of the above I chose to change my rating to 3/5 (benevolent) stars.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book and its underlying meaning until I noticed the AI generated art. Which makes me question if the writing is also AI. In one of the images, George is eating an ice cream cone and has three arms. This would have been a wonderful book if it hadn’t been full of AI.