Review by Gabi_boldt -- Diary of a Snoopy Cat

[Gabi_boldt]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Diary of a Snoopy Cat" by R.F. Kristi.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi, we see a light-hearted and daring childrens book about a group of animal friends who double as detectives in their free time. The story of Inca, her siblings Cara and Fromage, as well as their friends Monk, Boss, Terrance, and Charlotte, is filled with fun, love, and adventure from the beginning.Self-proclaimed “Snoopy Cat” Inca and her detective team use their wits and their individual strengths to help each other out.


Twelve days before Christmas Inca decides to keep a diary to tell her adventures since it is her dream to become a world known detective. It is through this fun and candid way that we are told the story of how the friends all work together to solve their big case, the case of the Stinky Porkster. The main plot of this story is of Ned, one of the human neighbors who is being wrongfully evicted from his home. Knowing that he and Ned would be separated, Boss a rottweiler, asks the cat detectives to do whatever they can to save Ned and get rid of the Stinky Porkster once and for all. Without spoiling any more of that, the other side to this book is the story of another household next door to the Inca family. These neighbors, a human named Solo and his trusty golden retriever Terrance set off on a mission to find a long-lost friend and return him home.


This children's book, while a little long winded, and bursting with information has a few worthy lessons and ideas that can be really beneficial to a child to read. The idea of unconditional love is first in foremost in my mind. To see the great relationship between humans and animals, even between the animals themselves, is really sweet and shows just how deep love can flow. I also like the inclusiveness shown, how cats, dogs, and even hamsters can befriend one another and live together. Being nice to everyone is an important lesson for kids especially if they grow up as an only child, or only with their siblings. Most children can get away with teasing and mistreating their siblings but that behavior can’t be encouraged and this book does the opposite. It encourages good behavior and friendship, no matter what.


I did have a few issues with the story as a whole. For one, as it is a book for children I felt that there was just too much going on. From the very beginning, there are multiple narratives taking place, lots of characters to keep track of and a few large words that would be hard for a young child to understand. While the cast of characters is extremely fitting for the story it felt like for someone who isn’t used to reading wouldn’t be able to absorb all the information and retain it. I also feel as though the story would have been very rich and fun, filled with all the good things it has, without the second plotline involving Terrance and his rescue mission. It was definitely a back burner sort of idea, but it seemed a little out of place and I thought it could be better as it’s own short story. It does seem like an interesting one!


I was also a little disappointed by the illustrations included in the story. I expected something a bit larger, maybe more interesting, but instead, they were rather small and unappealing. They divided the narrative instead of connecting it in my opinion. This, as well as Inca’s attitude, which I thought was a bad role model for children, played a large factor in how I rated this book. Inca is often conceited and thinks of herself first and foremost. She even admits it regularly throughout the story in her diary. As the main character, the “snoopy cat”, I would think that she would be a more upstanding character in order to set a better example for the children who are reading this book and see her as the leader of the family and detective agency.


In all, I found this to be an incredibly fun and interesting story that would be appropriate for young children to be read to with, or slightly older children to read themselves. There were a few issues, so I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, especially since there were next to no grammatical errors. R. F. Kristi really demonstrates an interesting writing style from the very start and draws her audience in by boldly establishing the characters.

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Diary of a Snoopy Cat
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Like Gabi_boldt's review? Post a comment saying so!

[JessNWheeler]

My kids and I enjoyed this book too. It’s a fun and suspenseful fable. I appreciate the themes and lessons of determination and the importance of friendship. Great review!

[Randasha]

I really think that the moral of the story is a wonderful lesson for all children of all ages because it talks about what most of us may have experienced or had to learn or will someday at some point and time at the time and age the are ready but this book will help them before time be inroudued to the story and hopefully enjoy it too as well as take what they learned and use it in their lives just like the characters did in the story