Benny the Cat is a truly adorable little book. It is simple and sweet with a story about an orange tabby that likes to play with yarn, be petted and the usual favorite kitty past-times. The reader gets to interact with Benny, too. The child can move little pillows on the screen to find Benny, help pick out Benny's favorite plaything and even pet him with some serious purring as a result.

This book has the perfect kind of interactivity, drawing the child into the story. It's also educational. One page lets the child tap anywhere on Benny to hear about the parts of the body, like eyes, paws & ears. It even teaches about what are appropriate toys for a cat & not to feed cats human food or candy. 

The book has ample settings and is well made overall. It does have an unusual set up for the page-turn, though. It is a page guide at the bottom of the page that can be slid to see other parts of the book. It also has a next & back button to navigate. Settings include the ability to personalize the book with the child's name and even record your own narration.

The book is lightly animated and enhanced with sound effects. My son especially liked tapping on the 'dirty' mark on Benny's fur to get the cat to clean himself off. The sound effects of 'licking' are very cute. You can even help Benny find the right place to go potty (hint: it's not on the potty itself). The only thing I would suggest adding is text that highlights as it is read.

Overall this is a great little book that will hit the sweet spot for anyone who loves cats. And for the rest of you ... well, it's still a delightful, interactive iPad book. And maybe Benny can change your mind about cats or at least this little guy who's definitely house trained. A great alternative to a real cat, I'd say.

All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.