This was a really cute book! I liked that it felt like poetry and showed both the human perspective and George’s perspective. The illustrations were well done and very calming.

What George thinks when he sits still is a cute and cozy read; a really good short read that will get you out of a reading slump.
I loved the message behind the book and the illustrations were really cute.

Precious, adorable and cute as a button - and that's just the book. A really gorgeous cat and an amazing read.

Cute, but no place in publishing if the artwork is AI. Ultimately, this feels like a half developed idea rushed to completion. It might appeal visually at first glance, but it lacks the heart, polish, and consistency that makes a picture book truly memorable.

2’8/5⭐️ First of all, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an arc of “What George thinks when he sits still”. I requested an arc of this book because i have a cat and obviously i absolutely love them, but this book was not it. The art style is cute, but it felt more like a collection of cat drawings with cute quotes rather than a book. Also, i saw some people saying the art was done using AI, which I kind of suspect might be true. There was a couple of strange illustrations in this book, so I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

This was so stinking cute and I made a big mistake reading this when not at home to go squish my two cats.
I will be buying a physical copy to flick through and enjoy the art from but also to read when I need to stop and take five minutes to just sit still

Such a sweet and cozy story with a good message, but it honestly felt pretty repetitive. I also just figured out that the art is AI-generated, which was kind of a bummer. Giving it one star… mostly because I love cats!

All around very wholesome book filled with love for life, cat, their connection to their human, and for the small pleasures we so easily missed & took for granted in life. It's so obvious & felt how this book is knitted with sincere loving heart all over it.

This book was unorganized and chaotic. I was pretty disappointed in reading it.
There is no cohesion and I cannot make sense of it.
It was also way too long for a picture book about a cat thinking during the day. I kept expecting it to be over soon, but it ended up going around in circles, and maybe squares, and was a long, confusing ride.
Cute idea that is not well executed and unfortunately I would not recommend it.

Although the graphics were very lovely, I found the storytelling to be a little disjointed. I am not sure if this is an effect of reading it as an e-book versus a physical book. Some pages flip from 3rd person to 1st person, making it a little difficult to follow. There were a few instances of repetition between 2-3 pages, but with different art. There was one page with way different typography, and that threw me off a lot. But again, the art was cute and I want a few of the pages as wallpapers for my phone.

On the surface this is a cute children's book about George the cat who likes to sit still. Thematically and artistically, it's all over the place and could be for children but would likely appeal to more experienced readers. For one, the author occasionally uses words like "albeit," which children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade would struggle to read let alone understand. The art is also inconsistent, which could confuse younger readers. Some reviews note the use of AI, but I'm not familiar enough with AI-generated art to comment on this. I will say the prose is highly repetitive and doesn't tell a clear story, which may bore young readers. Lastly, the dedication gave me pause: "for every child who knows how to be still." I see what the author was going for but this statement feels very much like the old sentiment that children should be seen and not heard. I had high hopes for this book but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Well this is adorable. A very sweet story about a cat named George and his love for his human and the simple joys in life. I loved the illustrations and chosen color palette, it was very engaging and soothing. The story is a bit lacking and some pages are too wordy, but as a whole this was a lovely read for any age.

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. It’s an illustrated work that, at first glance, has potential. The illustrations are pleasant although, unfortunately, their repetitiveness tends to undermine the overall experience.

Unfortunately, the content of the book didn’t manage to captivate me. While there are some interesting ideas, the storyline doesn’t seem to have a clear direction or underlying meaning, leaving the book feeling somewhat aimless. The repetition in both the imagery and themes made the reading experience rather monotonous, and the overall feeling was that a lot of potential was left untapped.

Regrettably, I have to admit that the book didn’t evoke much emotion or leave a strong impression on me. I hope that in the future, the author will experiment a bit more with the narrative, giving more cohesion to the story and life to the illustrations.

In conclusion, while the book might appeal to a younger or less discerning audience, I can’t say it won me over.

I think this book has potential and has a really cute premise. But it’s overly wordy and didn’t keep the attention of its targeted audience (young children). When I read aloud the book to my 6 year old individually and a group of students ages 6-8, they were fidgeting and I ended up not finishing the book.

The images of the cat seem to vary, which makes me wonder if they were created using AI.

Thank you Chantilly Cat Press for a copy of What George Thinks When He Sits Still!

"In this tender, beautifully illustrated picture book, readers follow Georgea dreamy, thoughtful cat as he rests in sunbeams, watches the world pass by, and reflects on quiet moments."

A very cozy book for cat lovers! Cute and hopefuly albeit a little bit inconsistent. If George is real though, I just know he is so, so well loved.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is a meditation on what a cat might be thinking when he is sitting still either in a sunbeam or with his human.

Going into this, I thought this was a picture book, or a gift book and not over 100 pages long. The idea behind this book is a sweet one and with more editing, the text of the book could be stronger. It was very redundant. There would be a page about an experience and the next page would be a rewriting of the same thing the previous page held. There also seemed to not be a cohesive structure to the book. It's not poetry, which was fine, but it started out about a cat sitting still, then sort of wandered into different styles of writing and thoughts (still on the cat). In terms of the text, it could use more polishing, more editing, and more focus to be a stronger book. I do see the idea (and as a cat parent myself, I get a lot of these thoughts).

As to the art, it is hard to write on the art because it looks like the latest AI art trend, and unfortunately, there are many pages where it looks like AI and not drawn by a human. The page where it mentions human feet in a bed has an illustration of the cat at the foot of the bed, with feet sticking out, but no human head on the pillow or anything to denote a human is actually in the bed. This happened in both illustrations on this. There is also a page with a random tail coming out of the plant (somewhere in the outdoors section). There are also inconsistencies with the windows early on. George himself is not consistently drawn/imaged. It's clear he's an orange boy, probably a medium/long-hair, but he sometimes has stripes and sometimes does not. His eye style also changed a few times (I noticed this most with the moth and my guess is, he was supposed to be looking at the moth to hunt? It sadly came off as inconsistent art to me). In my mind, I compared this to a Pusheen gift book so George, no matter the years and designs drawn, should be consistent. We also don't necessarily need all the splash pages (like George outside, George with a bunch of hearts).

All in all, the text has promise and with more work with an editor of some sort (editor, writers group, etc), it could be a strong gift book. Unfortunately, the art looks AI so it will be a major turn off to readers who support illustrators (and sadly, the major AI artwork of the moment looks exactly like this and the inconsistencies in the art do not help). If this book is reworked in the future, and the artwork is clarified if AI was involved or not (or just another illustrator on the book), it could be a very strong book. This reader sees the potential (and it would be delightful as a picture book). As it stands, the intended audience is not very clear.

What George Thinks When He Sits Still is adorable and cozy and full of sweet and cute illustrations befitting a little cat and their big mind. The text is, however, not very cohesive. At times seeming like a children’s storybook and others like an adult mindfulness text (albeit one of those that is simply a reminder to be calm and breath and not one of those informative texts) with random scientific cat facts near the end. Not quite sure who the intended audience is but I do think it’s perfect for all ages.

Honestly this is so cute. As I was reading it, I stopped so many times to take pictures of certain pages or read a section to my husband 😊

The illustrations are amazing and I said "oh my goodness I want this as a tattoo" SO MANY TIMES!

I seriously loved this so much and will totally be picking this up for my new grandbabies that are on the way!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute and sweet book about lessons that you might learn from a cat.

I was disappointed to learn that this book was created by AI because it was such a cute and wholesome read, as well as a beautiful ode to George. Now I'm wondering if the text is even original. I'd really liked the zen vibes and its theme of how love is quiet. Now idk.