UP CAT DOWN CAT

A pair of coy cats cleverly demonstrates various binary opposites.

Rarely are toddlers treated to such a refined concept board book, as two sleek cats, one black and one white, evocatively act out eight different sets of opposites. These are not darling cartoon cats; rather they are charismatic felines whose bodies slink and perch and lounge about, as when the white cat stretches its sinuous body out “long” while the black cat simultaneously curls into a “short,” compact ball. Efficiently covering oft-seen concepts like wet and dry (with one poor damp kitty and one dry, suspicious one) or awake and asleep, the book also veers into some lesser-seen sets, such as straight/curvy, with one cat tail hanging languidly and the other loopy and twitching. Lost/found, however, may not be so easy for toddlers to parse. Atmospheric multimedia art combines earthy linoprint backgrounds and collaged cats into a modern, toddler-friendly version of the famous Le Chat Noir poster, especially with its strikingly neutral cats placed against the boldly colored backgrounds. Within the cosmopolitan art, there are child-friendly elements and humor, like the ubiquitous small blue mouse toy that begs to be found or the naughty white cat calmly knocking a vase from a shelf or begging pathetically for the black cat’s dinner.

Hello kitty! Don’t miss this playful yet urbane combination of concept book and art book.