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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002043415 | Picture Books | EHLERT | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Top Cat rules the house until an unexpected box from the humane society arrives with someone new--and cute--inside. At first, Top Cat doesn't want to share his house and favorite things, but soon he learns that two cats can be lots more fun than one. Lois Ehlert's collage illustrations capture the amusing antics of Top Cat and his spunky sidekick in this romping read-aloud.
Author Notes
Lois Ehlert was born November 9, 1934, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the Layton School of Art. She has also worked as an art teacher, freelance illustrator, and designer. She has created 38 books for young reader and is known for her colorful collage artwork. Her work as an author and an illustrator has appeared in countless publications and has received numerous awards and honors.
In addition to creating books, Ehlert has produced toys, games, clothes for children, posters, brochures, catalogs, and banners. She has received the Caldecott Honor Book, 1989, for Color Zoo, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Snowballs, the Booklist Editors' Choice for Cuckoo/Cucú: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folklórico Mexicano, the IRA Teachers' Choice and NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book in the Language Arts for Feathers for Lunch, the American Library Association Notable Children's Book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
The first book that she wrote and illustrated was Growing Vegetable Soup (1987). Some of her other works include Planting a Rainbow (2003), Feathers for Lunch (1996), Snowballs (1999), Leaf Man (2005), Moon Rope/ Un Lazo de Luna (2003), which is based on a Peruvian folktale, and Rrralph (2013), Rain Fish (2016), and Heart to Heart (2017).
Lois Ehlert died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 25, 2021. She was 86.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Ehlert has a way with collage. In one double-page illustration a cat with its hackles raised bristles beautifully. Sad to say, the story line is so poorly expressed that the book might have been better without a text. "Go away, cat! You've invaded my space. And I don't like your cute little face" does nothing to convey the feelings of a cat whose favorite chair has been usurped by a kitten. The inevitable reconciliation between the two felines comes about more because the requisite number of pages have been filled than because of any development in the animals' relationship. This topic has been treated so well by so many talented authors and illustrators including Charlotte Voake in Ginger (Candlewick, 1997) that Ehlert's addition to the canon is truly superfluous.-Miriam Lang Budin, Mt. Kisco Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"Top cat" is just thatthe pet who rules the roost. That is, until a striped kitten arrives on the scene. Angry and jealous at first, the older cat hisses and bites, letting the new arrival know who's boss. But once the cat realizes the kitten is a permanent addition to the household, it makes the best of a difficult situation and becomes mentor to the fluffy newcomer. Lessons ensue: how to leave fur on the couch, chew on the houseplants, chase birds and "drink from the sink when company's there." With the knowing tone of a true cat lover, Ehlert's (Hands; Color Zoo) rhymed couplets accurately describe the commonoften naughtyhabits of house cats, and cat owners will nod in recognition at her scenarios. Visually, Ehlert creates a memorable cat duo in her trademark cut-paper collage style. Using pulpy, textured paper saturated with color, she assembles crisp shapes into forms exuding purr-sonality. On nearly every page she also includes sound effects, printed in small red letters, to accompany the cats' actions ("chomp," "swish," "scritch") and background noises (birdcalls, clanking silverware, etc.). Children and other feline fans will quickly warm to this spunky story of rivalry and acceptance. Ages 3-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved