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Content snapshot
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Violence
None
No violence
Language
None
Clean language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
Themes of family hardship, honesty, and the protective power of imagination
What this book is about
Fifth-grader Jackson is facing his family's second experience with homelessness when Crenshaw, the enormous imaginary cat he thought he'd outgrown, reappears. Katherine Applegate's middle-grade novel is gentle, honest, and warm about childhood anxiety, food insecurity, and the ways imagination helps children navigate what adults can't explain. The Newbery Medal winner handles difficult themes with remarkable lightness.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Child homelessness and food insecurity themes (handled with warmth)
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