This book was simple but wonderful. The illustrations were plain and simple but beautiful. It is about a cat who, guess what, can't be bothered to do anything, but it ends up being a serious story in the end. The cat is alarmingly relatable to me. And I feel this book will be important to get introduction to what depression is. Wonderful book. Highly recommended!

I think I am this cat!

Great little story which can be used to explore the complexities of emotions with young readers. "The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered" is a charming and relatable tale that skillfully addresses the subtle nuances of feelings, friendship, and the significance of communication.

Simple and a starting point for those 'January Blues' feelings.

For anyone who often can't be bothered, this book is worth a bother. The cats (and dogs!) are very cute and there's a nice little story to accompany them.
The main cat is black and white and all the other animals are bright colors. The cats all have very good eyebrows.

First and foremost, thank you to the author and Quarto Publishing Group for allowing me a free copy for my honest review.

Second, as someone who suffers from periodic depression (especially in these winter months), this book took me by surprise. I can relate to Greg/Gareth in those moments where you're sad and don't feel like doing anything. His friends were awesome too by supporting him and doing nothing as well. Heartwarming!

Also, a cat named Greg/Gareth is HILARIOUS!!!

THIS IS PRECIOUS. The art! The content! The cat! All the animals! The friendship! SO. PRECIOUS.

It’s a very quick little read and yet somehow the author managed to bring in two great twists. One really gave me BIG EMOTIONS and the other was just really funny. I don’t want to give it away because the twist is actually great representation and worth the surprise. Go, go!

A really sweet book for younger readers about how we don't have to be happy and smiley all the time, sometimes we just want to 'be' and recover

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

Have you ever read Bartleby, The Scrivener? It's a short nineteenth century tale of a clerical worker who is too apathetic to do his job, gets sent to jail, and (spoiler alert) dies of starvation because he doesn't feel like eating.

If Bartleby could have a happy ending, it might be something like The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered. In this children's book, a cat's friends ask it to go on different adventures with them, and it can't be bothered (want to have a party? no? Ok then, want to go to Mars? Still no? Oh come on, they both have ice cream!)

I'm about to spoil the plot of this 50-word juggernaut, so, you know, skip this paragraph if you want to feel the suspense as you read this to your toddler. After being turned down for all those great ideas for a free afternoon, the Cat's friends decide to chuck the lot of them and lounge around the floor. The end. No one dies.

Whether or not this is a good lesson to teach little kids, that's up to each parent to decide. But the art here is pretty fun to look at if you're an adult reading to a little kid and need something to occupy your mind.

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

This would be a great addition to any classroom, school, or public library or picture book collection. I loved the themes of mental health, friendship, etc. The illustrations were great. This would be a great book to include in an SEL unit or as a read aloud to talk about how sometimes we just need to rest and how we can be a good friend to others when they're in a down time. I love that it normalizes doing nothing, being sad, and how we can just sit with our friends.

This was an absolutely adorable picture book and I get that cat completely.

Sometimes we can't be bothered and thats okay. Sometimes it would be nice to just relax with someone else.

This was such a cute and charming read! It has a simple premise, yet gives you a warm hug. The lovely cat artwork and sweet message make it even more adorable. It highlights that wanting to do nothing when you're depressed is completely fine.

I was lucky enough today to get an ARC for this book from Netgalley, and what a treat for a child (and a fully grown adult) this book is.

The tale of a cat who is not feeling it, our friend here is just really wanting to do all that much no matter the idea his friends come up with and these adventures and ideas are illustrated incredibly beautifully throughout this book - the space pages in particular are my favourites.

You can't say much for plot, however the last page of this book made me laugh out loud reading it.

Charming and beautifully painted, The Cat Who Couldn't Be Bothered is a book you should be bothered about.

This is the first book I read in 2024 and what a lovely and comforting way to start this year. It's super short (only 40 pages) but I have so much adoration for this little cat who don't want to participate anything that his friends do. Because he just wants to do nothing.

This book gives me a whole new perspective on how we should normalize on not doing anything and not having any "interesting" plans especially on special holidays. Particularly, this time of year when everyone is setting resolutions and life-changing bucket lists, I feel like it's okay if we're not setting any goals at this moment right now.

Why? Because I am that cat in human body.

Also, as a side note, I just love it when he corrects his real name when his friends were calling the wrong one the whole time without knowing it. Personally, it's a big step for some people and reading about it makes me smile.

This was such a cute book, and it has an important message too.
I think both kids and adults will enjoy it.

Brimming with imagination and emotion! Plays on the stereotype of an apathetic cat, but ends in a beautiful moment of accompaniment by friends.

This book was super cute. It reminded me a lot of one of my daughters' favorite books when they were little: Duck and Goose, Goose Needs a Hug. There were also shades of one of my own cats reflected in the character of Greg, so it was fun to have that connection to the book. I think my students will like the story, the themes of friendship and understanding, and the cute illustrations. I will be purchasing this for my library when it comes out.

It's good to acknowledge that we are not always going to be happy or in the mood for things.

This book does just that, with its lovely cat protagonist and wonderful illustrations.

I absolutely loved it and I hope it can inspire many children (and grown-ups!) to allow themselves to experience a wide range of emotions

I also read this with my partner and he wants to make sure everyone knows the kitty is cute (it certainly is)

This is a delightful little book about an adorable grumpy-cat, introducing kids to the idea of mental health and support from your friends.

Absolutely lovely.

All of "Greg's" friends are trying to get him to do something, anything. "Greg" doesn't want to do anything. His friends keep on until "Greg" explains why he doesn't want to do anything.
A good reminder that sometimes we just need to be still with our feelings.

Greg/Gareth is such a mood haha.
Once again this is another children's book that teaches kids about feelings (a particular genre I just so happen to love). It kind of reminds me a bit of the first Grumpy Monkey book with the ending (more on that below). I find books like this so nice because it teaches kids to not be afraid to communicate their feelings for fear of upsetting other people. Others in your life can acknowledge you're having a bad day and still love you and want to be around you. It teaches kids you don't have to be by yourself if you don't want to be just because you're having a hard time of it.
Are spoilers a thing for picture books? If so, SPOILERS!!!
Grumpy Monkey spends the whole day not wanting to do much of anything and deny being grumpy when his friend's accuse him. At the end of Grumpy Monkey, our little monkey finally admits he is in fact grumpy and his friend says "that's okay, it's a fine day to be grumpy". This book is very similar to that in Greg/Gareth does want to do any of the fun activities recommended by his friends because he's too sad to. His friends acknowledge his feelings and they all lay with him so he's not doing nothing alone.

Normalizing just wanting to do nothing, especially in the framework of supporting one’s mental health, is refreshing. This book provides the framework for discussing and relating to different people and meeting people where they are and joining in on social time together in a way that is unforced and positive. Not only is the message here lovely, the illustrations are endearing and the flow to the story is just right, I look forward to having this book in our shared library, as this is the kind of warm, meaningful book the world needs more creators making. So sweet.