In early 2014 I reviewed the picture book Some Bugs, written by Angela Di Terlizzi and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. A fantastic, rhyming book, Wenzel's illustrations were unforgettable, calling to mind Eric Carle with a goofy undercurrent. I have been following Wenzel's career since then and am so excited to be reviewing the first picture book written an illustrated, They All Saw a Cat. 
They All Saw a Cat is a story of observation and perspective, the idea for the book coming to Wenzel several years ago when he was teaching art classes in Nepal, noting that, "if every kid in the classroom draws the exact same thing - say, a cat - they will come up with a unique image, depending on their perspectives on and experiences with cats, that puts the animal in a different, new light." They All Saw a Cat follows a cat as it walks through the world, each person and creature who sees the cat viewing it differently. They All Saw a Cat is simple and brilliant, living up to all the praise that has been heaped upon it (see the end of the review for details of the heaps of praise.)
Wenzel's text in They All Saw a Cat is sleekly repetitive - read it out loud and you will probably find yourself instinctively singing the words. The book begins, "The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears and paws . . ." To the child, the cat is all sweet, big eyes and happiness. To the dog, the cat is skinny and suspicious, slinking past. And to the fox? The cat is a puffy, mouthwatering, marshmallow of a morsel.
They All Saw a Cat twist and turns, just like the titular cat. How the cat looks to prey and predators, how the cat looks to a bee and to a worm, a flea and a bat, are just a few of the perspectives we are treated to as the cat walks through the world. The climax of the book finds the cat, a patchwork of all the perspectives. In the final pages, the cat approaches a pond, glimpsing his reflection, the text asking, "imagine what it saw?"
As the article in Publisher's Weekly from 2014 revealed, They All Saw a Cat was part of an eight publisher bidding war that was won by Chronicle Books, earning Wenzel a two-book deal and a six-figure deal. As the press material that came with They All Saw a Cat revealed, an editor from one of the losing houses proclaimed, "You guy have the next freakin' Eric Carle." My time working as an assistant to an agent was coming to an end just as Brendan Wenzel was introduced to him by Angela Di Terlizzi. Having witnessed a few bidding wars for manuscripts, I can only imagine what it was like in the office on the day that Chronicle prevailed. It's not often that a talent - and book - like Wenzel's comes along, and, as Ginee Seo, children's publishing director at Chronicle said, "I feel a bit embarrassed using a cliché, but as soon as I saw the proposal , I felt I was looking at an instant classic. . . the book is so intelligent and well thought-out that form the very first words and images you know you're in the hands of someone who is confident and knows what he is doing. Brendan's writing is spare and has a rhythm and pacing that is unusual for an artist to achieve. And his art has a sense of movement that is just beautiful. As an editor, I knew immediately that this was really rare."
Source: Review Copy
Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat, written by Susanna Reich and illustrated by Amy June Bates is scrumptious! Susanna Reich clearly knows and loves her subject matter (both Julia Child and cats) and her author's note reveals a wonderful personal connection while the afterword, notes, glossary and pronunciation guide offer substance for readers who want to know more
I love cats and I love haiku, so it makes sense that I find The Maine Coon's Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen and illustrated by Lee White absolutely charming and fascinating. The Maine Coon's Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers consists of 20 poems, one each for a different breed of cat, divided into four sections that any cat owner will immediately recognize:
Viviane Schwarz has long been a favorite of mine. Back in 2008 she introduced us to Moonpie, André and Tiny, a pack of cats in a brilliant lift-the-flap book who, when not hiding invited readers to toss them balls of wool, open boxes for them to hide in and to blow on the page to try them off after being caught up in a fishy "floodwave" to hilarious ends in There are cats in this book. In
I love a good cat story, and by that I mean a story in which a cat is behaving (although not necessarily always realistically illustrated) like a real cat, and Tiptop Cat by C. Roger Mader is definitely that!
Tiptop Cat begins, quite simply, "Of all the gifts she got that day, the best on was the cat." Right away, we know that this story is about the cat - people are irrelevant, or at
This review first ran 8/5/09. I discovered Catwings in a bookstore in Portland, OR when I was in college and was immediately enchanted - both by Le Guin's straightforward story about these amazing creatures and by Schindler's realistically detailed illustrations. These were the first chapter books my daughter and niece read, but they make for fantastic read-out-louds as well. Also, it's really
The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook
is NOW IN PAPERBACK!!!
Joanne Rocklin surprised and wowed me with her last book, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street and goes above and beyond with her new book, The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook. Both books are illustrated by the marvelous Chris Buzelli, and I wish there was more of his art inside the books as well. I'll be
I regret not reviewing Michael Hall's first two books, My Heart is Like a Zoo and Perfect Square, both of which are fantastic and read repeatedly by me at story times. I hope to make up for this oversight by introducing you to to all three of his books here! Cat Tale is Hall's newest book and, like his first two, Hall's Eric-Carleian, Leo Lionni-esque-colorful-collage-style is perfectly
Errol Broome is, I think, one of Australia's best writers for children. I've just reread Tangles, which is sadly out of print, and have been impressed all over again.
The blurb begins "After Ginger is killed, Sophie vows never to have another cat. But she can't resist the black kitten at the hospital fair; she's determined to buy him, whatever she has to do."
That 'whatever' is what adds a tangle of guilt to the grief.
But it's the writing I've been thinking about all morning, and the depth of understanding. Errol Broome cuts through to the core of emotion, the despair and joy; I kept thinking, "She really 'gets' children of this age."
Now, reading the back cover, I see that the editor has said the same thing, albeit more eloquently:
"A delicate story of friendship, honesty and change,
by a writer who understands the intense dramas of childhood."Because that's our job, as children's writers. The stories are important, whether they're funny, sad or dramatic. But to make a difference in the lives of readers, we need to tell those stories from the inside. We need to drop our adult or parental personae, and speak from the authentic voice of childhood.
There's no easy recipe for finding it, but every time I read a writer who does it right, it's a powerful reminder of the importance to go on searching.
Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat, written by Susanna Reich and illustrated by Amy June Bates is scrumptious! Susanna Reich clearly knows and loves her subject matter (both Julia Child and cats) and her author's note reveals a wonderful personal connection while the afterword, notes, glossary and pronunciation guide offer substance for readers who want to know more
Having been a children's bookseller for almost seventeen years now and a parent for a couple of years longer, I have seen many children, including my own, express a fascination with the story of the Titanic. Like other seemingly frightening and/or dangerous things that small children are fascinated with (sharks, dinosaurs, bugs) they grasp the literal enormity of the thing but don't yet
Joanne Rocklin surprised and wowed me with her last book, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street and goes above and beyond with her new book, The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook. Both books are illustrated by the marvelous Chris Buzelli, and I wish there was more of his art inside the books as well. I'll be honest. I usually do not enjoy reading real-life-family-trouble type stories. You
They All Saw a Cat twist and turns, just like the titular cat. How the cat looks to prey and predators, how the cat looks to a bee and to a worm, a flea and a bat, are just a few of the perspectives we are treated to as the cat walks through the world. The climax of the book finds the cat, a patchwork of all the perspectives. In the final pages, the cat approaches a pond, glimpsing his reflection, the text asking, "imagine what it saw?"
Wow, Tanya. Once again, thank you for your sensitive and insightful review, and that's no whopper. xo Joanne
Thank YOU, Joanne! Can't wait to read what you have to share with us next!