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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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Summary
Summary
A beautifully illustrated retelling of the beloved fairy tale from Caldecott Medal-winning author Jerry Pinkney
For generations, children have been enchanted by the tale of the clever cat in fancy boots who outsmarts a king and a sorcerer to win a castle and a bride for his penniless master. The humor, the magic, and a lush Renaissance setting are all on glorious display, and a well-placed gatefold adds to the drama. This elegant new edition of Charles Perrault's folktale is essential for every child's library. Read it in tandem with other Pinkney classic picture books like The Little Red Hen and The Lion and the Mouse.
"This book is larger than life."- Library Media Connection
Author Notes
Jerry Pinkney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 22, 1939. He began drawing as a four-year-old child, studied commercial art at the Dobbins Vocational School, and received a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. After graduating, Pinkney worked in design and illustrations, helped found Kaleidoscope Studios, and later opened the Jerry Pinkney Studio.
His is a children's book illustrator and has created the art for over one hundred titles including Julius Lester's John Henry, Sam and the Tigers, and The Old African, plus adaptations of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl and The Nightingale. He has won numerous awards including six Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, four Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, four New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards, and the Hamilton King Award. He also received the Virginia Hamilton Literary award from Kent State University in 2000, the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion in 2004, the Original Art's Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators in 2006, Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 2016, and the Coretta Scott King -Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016.
In addition to holding numerous one-man retrospectives and exhibiting his work in more than one hundred international group shows, Pinkney's art resides in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Delaware Art Museum, and the Brandywine River Art Museum. He has taught art at the Pratt Institute, the University of Delaware, and the University of Buffalo.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4-Set in early-18th-century France, this adaptation of Charles Perrault's classic tale is filled with lushly delineated period details, moments of tingling excitement, and playful humor. The protagonist, a handsome silver-tabby British shorthair, boasts elegant black-velvet stripes and intelligent green eyes. Bequeathed to a miller's youngest son, the can-do cat promises that he will prove his worth if provided with appropriate footwear and a draw-string sack. Puss gets to work, cunningly using the sack to hunt game, courteously presenting his prizes to the king, and continually singing the praises of his master (dubbed the Count of Carabas). Cleverly orchestrating a meeting between the young man and the king's lovely daughter, Puss bamboozles the monarch into believing that Benjamin is a man of means and then procures these riches by tricking an evil sorcerer out of his holdings. The story ends with a royal wedding and Puss-now prime minister-contemplating future adventures (the rear endpaper shows him captaining a sailing ship). The text clearly relates the plot with lyrical language and vivacious energy, and the color-pencil and watercolor artwork showcases the period's costumes, architecture, and landscapes. Perfectly timed highpoints (and a foldout page) emphasize the sorcerer's transformations into various animals (in response to Puss's taunting dare), as well as the cat pouncing on the man-turned-helpless-mouse. Accessible and eye-catching, this is a fitting companion to Fred Marcellino's exquisite rendition (Farrar, 1990).-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Following earlier interpretations of The Little Red Hen and Little Red Riding Hood, Caldecott Medalist Pinkney (The Lion & the Mouse) offers another sumptuous reimagining of a classic story, this time drawing inspiration from 18th-century France, when Perrault's tale was first translated into English. Working in graphite, colored pencil, and watercolors, Pinkney offers finely detailed portrayals of both the autumnal countryside of dense birch forests and busy fields and the imposing architecture and lavish fashions of the period. Pinkney portrays Puss in naturalistic detail, yet his mischievous, quick-thinking personality radiates from his outsize gestures and facial expressions. As in the original story, Puss-looking dapper in flared scarlet boots and a brimmed hat with turquoise plume-works behind the scenes to engineer a regal life for his master, the youngest son of a miller. Pinkney makes Puss's major triumph (tricking a shape-shifting sorcerer out of his castle) especially dramatic, using a gatefold to show off the man's metamorphosis into a ferocious bear. Given the breathtaking graphics, Pinkney's well-crafted narrative is almost a bonus. Ages 4-8. Agent: Sheldon Fogelman, Sheldon Fogelman Agency. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.