Another 5 Star Review for Kris the Cat (book)
AUGUST 27, 2026 — Sometimes what you’re missing most can turn up when you least expect it. In Kris the Cat by Ross Hewitt, Kris has a pretty good life with Queen Helga in an Icelandic castle. He has plenty to eat and an important job chasing the mice that get into the grain used to make bread. Still, his life isn’t quite complete. He doesn’t have a friend. One day, he spots a mouse hiding on a horse-drawn cart and jumps aboard. He’s so busy trying to catch it that he doesn’t realize how far from home he has gone. Suddenly, nothing seems familiar, and he has no idea how to get back. His journey through the countryside includes a meadow, a bee, an unexpected plunge into some very cold water, and a much-needed rest in the forest. Just when the cat is tired, wet, and alone, a little girl finds him. Could getting lost lead Kris to exactly what he’s been looking for? I really enjoyed Kris the Cat by Ross Hewitt, and I think kids will too. It has adventure and a great message about friendship, kindness, and compromise. Plus, there are some funny parts. I especially appreciated the “Words to Learn” section at the end. It defines terms such as “grain,” “lurched,” and “patient,” including some that adults might assume young readers already understand. The discussion questions are another nice addition. I’d love to share this with my kindergarten students because we could talk about how Kris feels when he’s lost, making friends, sharing, and finding solutions that work for everyone involved. We could also use the vocabulary list to build on the story. The illustrations by Arnel Dime, Jr. are colorful and expressive and will hold children’s attention throughout. Cat lovers and kids who enjoy animal adventures with a meaningful lesson will want to pick this one up. I can see this book earning a place in homes, classrooms, and libraries. — Jennifer Senick
Kidlio Mag Loves Kris the Cat Book
AUGUST 17, 2026 — Some stories teach you about bravery. Some teach you about finding a new home. Kris the Cat by Ross Hewitt quietly does both — and wraps it in friendship, humor, and the warmth of unexpected connections.
The story begins in a castle. Kris is not just any cat. He has a very important job: protecting Queen Helga’s grain from mice. He is diligent, proud, and completely devoted to his duty. But one day during a mouse chase, Kris loses his way back to the castle. What could have been a story about being lost becomes a story about finding home in unexpected places.
Kris meets a little girl who offers him kindness, a warm home, and a name. She calls him Kris. There, he also meets Freyza, another cat. What starts as curiosity quickly grows into a deep, playful friendship. Just when Kris thinks he’s found a new family, his old one is looking for him.
Hewitt captures the language of cats beautifully, not with words, but through shared naps, chases, and quiet companionship. With warm illustrations and a gentle heart, this book teaches children that family can grow bigger and love can live in two places at once. By the last page, you don’t just close a book. You feel like you’ve made two new feline friends.
A must-read for ages 3-8. Available on Amazon.
KidsFirst Kid Review
https://www.kidsfirst.org/detail/223126.html
Kris the Cat is a fun loving adventure of a pampered cat who has all he needs except a mate.
A short animated film inspired by an old Icelandic folktale, Kris the Cat tells the story of the beloved and pampered Queen's male cat, who is a skilled mouse catcher. The cat has everything he could want except a mate. One day, while hunting a mouse, he becomes lost in the countryside, where his adventure begins. He is plucked up by a little girl, who takes him home to her farmhouse. He meets a female cat who gradually takes to him. The little girl and her father name him Kris. Helga, the Queen's Head of Household, finds him at the farmhouse and, despite the girl's objections, buys the female cat and takes both Kris and Freyja back to the castle, promising to give the little girl one of their kittens. Kris discovers that love, in its many forms, surrounds him.
This sweet animated short film will warm your heart as Kris the cat finds true love. I love the 2D animation style. It's clear and very detailed. I also really enjoy the narration by Joanna Parson, with her clear voice filled with lots of inflections. The other voice talents are equally good. Helen Herbert plays the Little Girl and Russell Jordan plays Father. There is a bit of a dilemma when the head of castle offers to buy the girl's cat from her. She doesn't want to lose her cat, but her dad convinces her that the money will feed them for a year and they will be invited to the castle to select one of Kris and Freyja's kittens in the future. So the deed is done. Kris finds true love and the little girl and her dad find economic stability.
The film's message is a quiet meditation on maturity and finding love.
I give Kris the Cat 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 12, plus adults. By Julie S., KIDS FIRST!
TMFF Review
“the project has that sunny, optimistic aura that stems from a real passion for the fascinating world of storytelling”
United Kingdom, Nov. 2, 2022 — What’s really fascinating about the stories for kids is their universality and how they capture, beyond their naïve interface, some pearls of wisdom for an audience of various ages. This seems to be the reason that leads Aimee Todoroff to create the short animation Kris The Cat, inviting us to witness the adventures of the protagonist, who, at the end of his odyssey, discovers true love. Despite its simplicity in terms of the animation style and the editing, the project has that sunny, optimistic aura that stems from a real passion for the fascinating world of storytelling. Thus, the director fully embraces the classic stylistics of a fairy tale, hiding behind a narrative voice to present us with the initiatory path of an atypical character – a tomcat from Iceland. Starting from the pretext of a folktale, the animation becomes not only a great example of putting immortal narrative structures into practice but also a declaration of love addressed to our four-legged friends.
It is wonderful to see that such animations manage, despite their apparent naivety, to charm, even when the message is not new, especially to a seasoned viewer. This rare quality is due to the skill with which Aimee Todoroff keeps the balance between the style of the narration, the subtextual message, and the “clean” visual and musical interface through which the little spectators can create empathic connections with Kris. No, this is not a project that wants to be non-conformist or original at any cost. In fact, this stake is not important for the director who rather gives us this animation not to surprise nor to provide some “life lessons” but for the pure and vivid pleasure of storytelling. And that is perhaps all that matters when we talk about such a project. In other words, Kris The Cat offers that moment of disconnection, making us forget about the rigors and ambitions of an “elitist” cinema in order to fully immerse ourselves in the fascinating act of storytelling or perhaps even in the nostalgia for our own childhood..