The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered by Jack Kurland

There are times where my cat Ziggy absolutely refuses to play, hang out, or even look at me. It's incredibly frustrating—I often have to indulge him in play while I work, even when I'm actively participating in a meeting, yet sometimes when I want him to play with me—he can't be bothered. But much like the titular cat of The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered, it's not that he's actually apathetic. There's something else going on.

In The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered, Greg the cat is pestered by many friends who ask him to come do something fun. Come chase a ball of string, come explore, come to a party, come fly to space. Greg tells everyone, "I can't be bothered." He imagines chasing the string or floating through space, picturing himself miserable while everyone else has fun. When he imagines himself exploring in the forest, he sees himself being chased by tigers and snakes. He imagines himself unhappy at a boisterous party, or annoyed while playing with a ball of string.

Eventually a friend asks him what he actually does want to do, listing off fun activity after fun activity... but Greg answers, "Stop! It's not that I can't be bothered./I'm just feeling sad at the moment. All I want to do is nothing."

It's a sort of sobering moment after giggling through the beginning. Yes, Greg looked hilariously miserable at the party. Yes, he looked quite silly being chased by tigers and snakes. But all along, he was sad. His friend, the "cat-stronaut," shares that he, too, can feed sad. The cat-stronaut offers to do nothing with him. Then all Greg's friends join in, doing nothing together.

It's a simple and effective way to teach kids that emotions can be complicated. It's easy to see oneself in Greg's melancholy. Kids might even recognize a friend or sibling's reluctance to play in Greg's frustrating refusal to join in. Hopefully, kids also recognize that that friend or sibling might actually be feeling down. They might learn to ask if someone is feeling sad and offer to join them in doing nothing.

Although he seems difficult, Greg is adorable and easy to love. His minimalist design makes it easy to read his expressions, so even young kids can discern how Greg feels. The hand-lettering of the text is big and bold; italicizations and capital letters draw the eye and emphasize Greg's emotions as he speaks. A delightful spread where a dachshund offers to play trombone with Greg features the word "trombone" stretched across two pages, and you can practically hear how obnoxious the sound is. Everything on the page works together to tell the tale of this cat who can't be bothered.

While the illustrations are largely sparing with plenty of white space, the full color spreads are expansive and lush. Kids will love spotting the different characters and all their silly antics in Greg's imagined scenarios.

To get into the weeds a bit here, the book's refrain, "I can't be bothered," is a mindset many people project onto cats. We look at the cat who won't come when called and won't accept cuddles and we assume they don't care about us. We assume they're mean, or aloof, or jerks. We assume the same of people, which sort of leads me to believe that we project onto cats.

Cats, like people, have limits. They might be overstimulated by too many loud noises. They might be overwhelmed when too much is asked of them. They might just be sad. A friend, much like a cat, doesn't ignore us out of a place of inherent meanness or a lack of caring. There's usually something else going on.

I think this book presents that concept to the reader in a simple and effective way. It imparts a lesson about the complexity of emotion while utilizing Jon Klassen-esque humor. (Speaking of humor, that twist at the end is delightful and serves to keep the book from feeling preach-y). Greg is lovable in his reclusiveness, and endearing in his admission of sadness. Most of all, Greg is relatable. May we all have friends as kind and understanding as Greg, even if they call us by the wrong name.

The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered is a very thoughtfully-written, boldly-designed picture book. It effectively offers a helpful exploration of emotions and how complicated they can be, all while delivering a fun readaloud and an endearing character. The doodle-like character designs are paired with full-color spreads packed with whimsy. I hope to see more from creator Jack Kurland in the future!

Book Info

• Title: The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books/Quarto Group

• ISBN: 9780711287457

• Author: Jack Kurland

• Illustrator: Jack Kurland

• Pub date: Mar 26, 2024

• Source: https://www.edelweiss.plus/?sku=0711287457&g=4400

  
  

Fun fact: The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered won the 2025 Paws to Read Purrfect Read-Aloud Award. Paws to Read is an organization that promotes kids reading to animals.