"This is the story of everything that happened after my friend Kit had a meltdown at school.”
Best friends Mila and Kit spend their days doing fun things: they go to the skate park, play Truth or Dare, and pet the neighborhood cats. Mila’s favorite thing to do is draw her Shy Cat comics. But Kit’s is probably eating afternoon snacks. The first time Kit went to Mila’s house, he ate three bananas in a row without asking! Mila thinks rude is rude, but her mom says that sometimes, rude is just hungry.
When Kit has a meltdown at school over a “best before” date, a bag of apples, and a dented can—Mila realizes there’s something important she might have missed about her friend. And it all starts with their school’s Stuff-the-Bus food drive challenge.
★ “This is a timely novel that is a must-buy for elementary schools as it gently yet effectively opens conversations about the critical topic of food insecurity for young readers.”
"Sensitive portrayals of food insecurity and child hunger distinguish this compassionate work, a double graphic novel debut from Day and White…. A gently instructional narrative portrays Mila’s growing comprehension of Kit’s situation, and emphasizes the importance of resources such as food banks and community gardens as well as providing tactful personal support. White employs loose line art and soft color washes across cartoony illustrations that also feature the tweens’ own hand-drawn comics about the imaginative adventures of Shy Cat. Information about the Hunger Stories Project—an organization dedicated to raising awareness about food insecurity in North America—concludes."
"Mila is an earnest heroine who’s eager to help her neighbors; in the course of the story, she learns about community methods for addressing food insecurity, like community gardens and school food programs. Through her, serious issues, such as the social stigma of food insecurity and the dearth of fresh fruits and vegetables at school, are tackled in a lighthearted way."
"In Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge, Dian Day and Amanda White invite readers to think about what it means to not have enough nutritious food to eat. Narrated by Mila, this story explores friendship, different life situations, and food insecurity. Through Mila's comic strips, readers get a glimpse into this budding artist's mind as she tries to understand why her friend Kit's family is food insecure while her own is not. While searching for answers to her many questions, Mila notices a neighbourhood stray cat that also doesn’t have enough to eat. This graphic novel, with its fun illustrations and well-paced story, will be an excellent conversation and question starter for middle graders learning about food security."
"Shy Cat offers a beautiful and engaging story on the complex topic of food insecurity. Young readers — and their parents! — have much to gain from reading this thoughtful graphic novel."
"Told with warmth and humour, Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge explores food insecurity from a child’s perspective, showing how empathy can grow when assumptions are set aside and friends learn to listen."
"This heartwarming graphic novel is poignant, adorable and deeply topical....This is a touching and accessible story that speaks to kids and adults alike, inviting opportunity for reflection on privilege and friendship. It does a beautiful job illustrating the quiet ways children make sense of complex truths."
"The graphic novel introduces different ways to fight food insecurity, including a great introduction to community gardening. Mila realizes the importance of speaking your mind and standing up for what’s right, something readers may find especially inspiring....White’s art in Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge is colorful, realistic, and cozy when it needs to be....Mila’s Shy Cat comics are interspersed throughout the story, they become a way for her to express her emotions, almost like a graphic diary, and these work quite well in doing that. Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge would be a great choice for a middle grade book club or classroom read along."
"Dian Day and Amanda White are both members of the Hungry Stories team, which works to highlight food insecurity in North America in creative ways, as a means of advocating for change. This first Shy Cat graphic novel is a terrific way of doing so, as young Mila learns about this complicated issue and, perhaps just as importantly, how to talk about it with the people around her....The commitment to diversity throughout is outstanding. This is a book that deserves to be in every children’s library, almost as much as food deserves to be in every kid’s pantry."