Happy Cat

A cold cat slips into an apartment building and climbs floor by floor, with each neighbor — dog, rabbit, bird, elephant — welcoming him in and offering a small gift. By the top he has a cozy home assembled from everyone's generosity. Steve Henry's best move is the cutaway building illustration that lets young readers see every neighbor's apartment at once, which invites close looking and rewards repeat reading. Kirkus noticed both the illustration design and the simple, effective text for beginning readers. The story is warm, the community-welcome theme is genuinely positive, and the vocabulary is appropriately spare for early independence. The honest caveat: very spare. There is not much narrative beyond the climbing and the gifts. That is fine for a Level B early reader; just know the depth is limited.