Mr. King's Machine — Genevieve Cote

When Mr. King the cat discovers that one of the pretty flowers near his home has been chewed by a caterpillar, he is NOT happy. He decides to build himself a Caterpillar-Catcher to track down the culprit who did it. VOOM! VOOM! VOOM! But as he speeds up and down the hillsides, Mr. King doesn't notice that the Caterpillar-Catcher is spewing nasty smoke into the air and knocking down the other pretty flowers in his path. Now it's his animal friends who are NOT happy. They explain to Mr. King that his machine is making things worse, not better. And why chase a caterpillar anyway? Caterpillars turn into butterflies, and butterflies help the flowers to grow! Will Mr. King be able to turn things around so everyone will be happy again?

This is the third book in Geneviève Côté's wonderful picture book series about a crown-wearing cat who always needs a little help from his friends to learn important environmental lessons. With bright and colorful illustrations, this engaging, charming book makes an entertaining read-aloud. This story shows that, as in the real world, there can be unintended consequences to well-meaning actions, and it provides a starting point for discussions on the interdependency of all things in nature. It might also prompt a conversation about how creativity can inspire us to make our community a nicer place --- maybe even sparking a classroom flower-seed-planting project. This is also a sweet lesson on how friends can help us to better understand ourselves and our world.