Squash, the Cat: Stuck in the Middle by Sasha Mayer
Published by Random House Children's Books on February 4, 2025
ISBN: 0593566564
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Squash is a very orange, very round cat living the good life with his best friend, Maggie — a wildly imaginative,  energetic girl with curly red hair, fair skin and freckles. Squash’s days involve a lot of napping and sitting happily on the sidelines while Maggie partakes in a wide variety of adventures. The best part of the day for Squash, is bedtime when he and Maggie fall asleep in “a cozy Squash-Maggosh circle”.

Mayer depict the coziness of Squash’s existence and the excitement of Maggie’s with dynamic, colorful illustrations that convey what’s happening in the text. As in any story of contentment, an antagonist must enter the picture, to keep things interesting. In this case, Pirate Lou, a swashbuckling “pillow pirate” stuffie, is a willing participant in all of Maggie’s most active adventures.

Squash is still on the periphery but it feels much less comfortable with Pirate Lou horning in. And now bedtime is ruined. While Maggie is willing for all three friends to share the bed, Squash with his generous contours, falls gracelessly to the floor and decides to “lose” Lou while Maggie sleeps. Unfortunately, Maggie discovers Squash in the middle of his nefarious act and banishes him from the bed.

Squash, determined to regain his spot in the bed, attempts, for a second time, to remove Pirate Lou from the scene. As he tries to get the plump pillow pirate out to the trash truck in the morning, they gets stuck half-in, half-out of the cat door. Readers will find Squash’s expressions as he tries to maneuver his way out of the predicament comical.

Poor Squash  is clearly worn out by all his failed machinations and capitulates to a nap, realizing that Pirate Lou is truly a comfy nap buddy. In the happiest of endings, the three individuals now become inseparable. Squash is still cheers on from the sidelines while Maggie and Pirate Lou play, but now his naps include Pirate Lou.

Stuck in the Middle is not an inventive story but it is enjoyable.  Recommended for public and school library collections.

Deanna Contrino, SLMS
K-2 Resource Librarian, Scarborough Schools