Children's Literature Professor and Author
Schlatter and Patten’s delightful Merlin combines whimsical illustrations and playful rhymes to carry a positive message of hope and identity.

The title character, Merlin, is an adopted cat who believes he’s a dog. But through the tutelage of his adopted sibling cat Pudge, Merlin learns to be the cat he was meant to be. The message behind Merlin’s story is that we can all become who we were meant to be, despite our circumstances. Merlin was raised by dogs who made fun of his attempts to be a dog himself, but the love he was given after his adoption helped him to realize and achieve his identity as a cat.

Schlatter’s rhyming text leads us gently through Merlin’s discoveries, and Patten’s illustrations blend with the text, reflecting both the characters’ goofy fun and the depth of the theme. The book has an added benefit in that a portion of the proceeds go toward animal rescue and adoption, a cause close to Schlatter’s heart.'

Reviewed by “John Sheirer, author of Loop Year and Growing Up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere”, and Professor at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, CT