My daughter throughly enjoys this this, but I think this has been her favorite so far. She was giggling nonstop during this book. I recommend.

My 4 year old loved this one!! The colors and illustrations are so wonderful! The story was super cute and unique! I can tell that we will be reading this one over and over again lol

And finally I get to go right back to the start with the initial volume in this phonetics series, which certainly makes the mat – sorry, The Mat – the main character he was so often not in the sequels. For this is the -at words, and the mat has a right old adventure here, being flat then not then being airborne, and leaving the house… Again, simplistic illustrations suggest someone could do better, but things are never bad enough to dissuade anyone from this. The story is certainly appealingly silly. And with all six of them (so far) under my belt, I can finally say that's that!

Turning the familiar phrase “The cat sat on the mat” literally upside down, The Mat and the Cat is a funny and clever choice for beginning readers.

With limited vocabulary consisting largely of simple -at words, the book uses repetition and word patterns in increasingly ridiculous ways. Instead of the mat simply being a place for the cat to sit, the mat is on the cat, then on the rat, and then on a bat. At one point, it is—as expected—flat. Then someone trips on it, and suddenly it is the “not-flat mat,” adding another playful twist to the language.

As the antics of the mat become more absurd, the story keeps young readers entertained while reinforcing simple words, rhyming patterns, and early reading skills. I especially liked that the humor comes from rearranging and building upon such a small collection of words, showing just how much fun can be had with even the simplest sentences.

Lauren Blunck’s illustrations are straightforward but expressive, clearly depicting the action young readers need to follow—and appreciate—the very humorous story unfolding on the page. The combination of visual cues, repetition, and predictable word patterns makes this an approachable book for children beginning to read independently.

The Mat and the Cat would be a great addition to a library’s beginning reader collection or a fun gift for a child learning to read their first simple sentences. Who knew one mat could cause so much trouble?

Thank you to NetGalley and Likes Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.