Pettson is planting a vegetable garden with the help of his cat Findus, who decides to plant a meatball in hopes of growing more. But their poor garden is constantly bombarded by other animals who make a mess of it.

This book had an interesting-looking cover and title; I thought it might make a good storytime book as young children always seem to love farm stories. As soon as I opened it though, I realized otherwise. There is a LOT of text on each print. And it is all in a very small font. I honestly think this story would be much better as an early chapter book designed for first and second graders rather than as a picture book (which are typically for younger kids, although not exclusively). Furthermore, I did not care for how the book ended up a very vague, inconclusive note.

On the plus side, the story is fine, although nothing that extraordinary. Findus the cat is very funny, and I enjoyed how active he was in the illustrations. Still, there was nothing in here that was compelling enough for me to want to pick up other titles in this series. ( )

An adorably quirky tale of a farmer, his cat friend, unruly chickens and more. Findus the cat tries to grow meatballs while Pettson plants more conventional seeds, only to have their hard work undone by hungry, inquisitive animals.

Though a bit wordy for a picture book, the story is funny and surprising. I would recommend this for young readers.

*eARC Netgalley* ( )

Farmer and his talking cat have a difficult time keeping hens, cows, etc. (who also talk) out of a newly planted garden. This is part of a long series of books by Swedish author Nordqvist. If you like an old-fashioned story with old-fashioned illustrations, you should be entertained. I'm on the fence--an ironic place to be since this book is about the lack of effective ones! ( )

Very funny book which ends rather abruptly, as books written by illustrators sometimes do, but a lot of fun with hilarious illustrations. Adorable, with a very wacky cat. ( )