Okay, sorry I got on the
counter.
But the turkey looked so
good!
I only had a little taste...
...but they YELLED and
chased me away!
Sniffle."
If you have never lived with a cat, you may not recognize the many faces they present to the world. That is decidedly not true of Mies van Hout, whose wonderful, warm and witty mixed media artwork bless the pages of this fascinating book. There is wide variety in color (mostly in shades of red, yellow, green and blue), and medium (acrylic ink, oil pastels, and gouache). Every single illustration gives personality to the feline doing the narrating on a particular spread. That first person voice has dramatic impact whether the cats are scared, dreaming, furious, mystified, or curious.
John Spray's free verse text celebrates the cats presented. Each turn offers a double page spread with featured feline accompanied by tremendous variety in tone and temperament.
"Sneaky
After my people are in their beds,
I'll have a sneaky fishbowl snack.
I'll drop the tail in Doggie's dish ...
... He'll get no treats tomorrow.
Heh Heh!"
Verse matches art in every way. There are times when readers will laugh out loud. There are also more sombre, haughty, and frightening times. The absolutely on-point feline faces speak clearly to the emotions felt. Those who love cats will tell you that cats do have varied emotions. The 20 featured here certainly speak eloquently to that statement.
You don't have to love cats to love this book. It's a charmer!
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