Superficially attractive but ultimately misses the mark.
This quiet retelling of a popular legend will have limited appeal.
The plot is straightforward, and the cat narrator pleasant if not especially engaging. The qualities of compassion and generosity that are gently demonstrated and the theme of virtue rewarded are undeniably laudable. Unfortunately, readers and listeners will likely feel distanced not just by the time and place of the story (Japan several hundred years ago) but by the formal language, lengthy text and limited, low-key action. A poor monk adopts a stray cat. The monk also cares for the physical and spiritual needs of the people in the surrounding area to the best of his abilities and (very) limited resources. The cat’s habit of raising one paw in a beckoning motion eventually brings good fortune when a rich samurai who happens to be passing is saved from a falling tree during a fierce storm. Like the text, the pictures fail to generate much interest. Jaeggi’s lovely watercolors reflect the serene tone and evoke the exotic setting, and her use of panels echoes traditional Japanese artwork. Depictions of the cat in its characteristic pose seem awkward, but other pictures show flashes of sly feline charm and add some humor and movement. Overall, however, the illustrations have a static feel that weighs down the already slow story. Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger's The Beckoning Cat (2009) tells the same story but with greater success.
Superficially attractive but ultimately misses the mark. (author’s note) (Picture book/folktale. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56145-589-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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