The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside: Based on A True Story [Hardcover]

Cynthia Von Buhler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2006 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

All tigers and tabbies, calicos and strays, kittens and cats, need love. And trust. They want things just so. And, sometimes, they do not want to come inside. But a little patience and a little attention can make all the difference . . .

Here’s a loving tribute to feline companionship, sure to warm human and kitty hearts—because cat company is worth waiting for!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–This cumulative story, told by a redheaded, doll-like figure, features a stray feline outside a house on a cold wintry day. The woman asks the cat to come inside, but he runs away. The following day, she puts out a bowl of warm milk; the critter laps it up and leaves. Next, she leaves him a bowl of milk and a plate of tuna, but he still refuses to come in. Each day, she leaves more gifts, until the front porch is as comfortable as the inside and the cat invites the woman to come out. The simple text is enhanced dramatically by the three-dimensional-looking illustrations, which are wonderfully detailed photographs of a dollhouse and clay characters. The photos are set against parchment-colored backdrops and framed by scroll borders, giving the pages a cozy, old-fashioned look. While the tale will be fun to share, the photographs are a delight to pore over individually. Endpapers complete with claw scratches round out a package that should please everyone from cat lovers to miniature enthusiasts.–Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA
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Review

The simple text is enhanced dramatically by the three-dimensional-looking illustrations, which are wonderfully detailed photographs of a dollhouse and clay characters. The photos are set against parchment-colored backdrops and framed by scroll borders, giving the pages a cozy, old-fashioned look. While the tale will be fun to share, the photographs are a delight to pore over individually. Endpapers complete with claw scratches round out a package that should please eveyone from cat lovers to miniature enthusiasts.
School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618563148
• ISBN-13: 978-0618563142
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 7.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,219,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia von Buhler Bio

www.butwhowillbellthecats.com
www.comeinsidekitty.com
www.cynthiavonbuhler.com
twitter.com/CynthVonBuhler

Hailed by the press as "multitalented and eccentric" (Boston Globe), a "rising star," (NY Arts), and "one of the top contemporary surrealists" (Art & Antiques), Cynthia von Buhler has made a name for herself as an award-winning and critically acclaimed fine artist, author, and illustrator. Von Buhler's work has been likened to a trip down an ornate rabbit hole -- her stunning, three-dimensional paintings have been displayed in galleries and museums around the world, and have been reproduced and featured in books, magazines, and newspapers from TIME to The New Yorker. Her sculptures have also appeared on NBC's Law & Order and Kidnapped, she and her artwork were profiled in "Mary Magdalen: An Intimate Portrait" on the Lifetime Network. Von Buhler's artwork has appeared in animations on Nickelodeon.

Since her early days as a student at the Art Institute of Boston, however, her true creative passion has been writing and illustrating children's books. In 1998, von Buhler's illustrations for Nicholas Nicholson's Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog (Viking) garnered her a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, which praised the "imaginative debut" and her "distinct sense of time and place." In 2001, she was asked by Steven Spielberg to illustrate Martha Stewart's story for Once Upon a Fairytale (Viking), a book produced to benefit The Starbright Foundation for seriously ill children. In 2002, The New York Public Library selected the "handsomely illustrated" (The New York Times) They Called Her Molly Pitcher (Knopf), written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler, as one of "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing." In 2004, she went on to illustrate Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth Is a Planet. Reviews called her "dramatic oil-on-gesso artwork" (School Library Journal) "handsome and effective" (Booklist). Publisher's Weekly offered high praise for her work on the book: "Von Buhler's paintings exert a gravitational pull of their own."

After these successful efforts illustrating the books and stories of other authors, Cynthia took a decisive step forward and created The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside (Houghton Mifflin) with dual credits as author and illustrator. The book's writing and its unique three-dimensional artwork featuring painted clay characters in detailed architectural sets were widely praised by the press. Book Sense named the book as a "Children's Pick" for its "beautiful story" and "extremely detailed sets." Kirkus Reviews called the illustrations "unique" and "eye-popping," providing "a glimpse of a world beyond the frame" and pronounced the book "a sheer delight." Publisher's Weekly thought "readers ... may well be entranced" by the "considerable magic" of von Buhler's illustrations, while Time Out New York called the book "beautifully ornate," and "the cat's meow." The book was also chosen as "Best of 2006" by Parent & Child magazine.

In 2009, von Buhler took a second turn as author and illustrator with her soon to be released But Who Will Bell The Cats? (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The book's superb illustrations are a tour de force, with painstakingly handmade architectural sets, cinematic lighting, and luminous oil paintings of the characters in action. Advance praise for the book, which will officially be released on September 7th, has been strong: Kirkus Reviews predicted that "young readers will pore over this one again and again," and School Library Journal agreed that "children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings." Von Buhler's artwork has achieved such significant accolades that, even prior to the book's release, The Nassau County Museum of Art in New York is exhibiting the book's elaborate miniature sets in a feature solo exhibition between September 20, 2009 and January 3, 2010.

Cynthia von Buhler's work is in the permanent collections of The Staten Island Museum, The Nassau County Museum of Art, The University of Toronto, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and hundreds of personal collections all over the world. She splits her time between a castle on Staten Island and a lodge in Connecticut with her husband and her many, many animals.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and Heartwarming, September 19, 2006

By 

Earl Rungsflash (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside: Based on A True Story (Hardcover)

I was really impressed with this book as an object when I first saw it. It's beautifully designed, and pretty high quality for its genre (many kids books these days are kind of cheap). It looks expensive, like a leatherbound volume from the library of some old English manor house. There are some very cute, whimsical touches, like cat scratch marks on the "wallpaper" lining the inside of the covers. The artwork is unimpeachable, and it's really novel the way von Buhler seems to have exclusively used clay to sculpt the characters and then photographed them, rather than painting or drawing them.

According to the author's note on the dust jacket and also the book's stellar website (can be found via Google), the story is based on Cynthia's own experience taming a stray cat. It is sweet and heartwarming story of a stray cat who learns to trust a human, and a human who learns to accommodate the cat's needs in a cute way. Kids I've read this to seem to really like that it's based on someone's actual experience. The visuals are interesting for everyone, not just children. They are amazing and quirky and include an elaborate set with easy-to-miss details like pieces of tuna sushi, tiny framed pictures of frogs on the wall, a ouija board on the coffee table, and lit period lamps that appear to actually plug into the wall!

I've bought this book for a couple of my nephews and the children of friends, and every single one of them has ended up loving it, whether I'm reading it to them or they're looking at the pictures themselves and talking about various details they notice. It is truly delightful, and an excellent find for any shopper looking to buy a book for kids in the 2-6 year old range. After coming across it, I also discovered that the author has illustrated several other people's books, but none of them in this style. I'll have to check those out as well.

Highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary!, January 22, 2007

By 

C. Enterprises "The Willingsworth Review" (Paris, TEXAS, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside: Based on A True Story (Hardcover)

The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is a touching story of trust, patience, friendship and love, thoughtfully written and exquisitely illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler with such warmth and detail that you feel like you too have been invited inside the charming Victorian home. The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is the story of a little Victorian girl who leaves warm milk on her porch for a stray cat she invites inside, but the cat will not come in. Each day the girl leaves gifts for the cat on the porch, and again invites the cat inside. Each day the cat declines her invitation. Children will delight in the repetition of the story, while parents enjoy the artistry of the illustrations and the variation as the gifts build in grandeur from a simple bowl of milk to elaborate Victorian furnishings. With patience and time, the cat comes to trust the little girl and eventually shows her affection by inviting the little girl into the cat's home they have built on the porch. This storybook and the true story of Olympus, the stray cat von Buhler rescued which inspired her tale, will touch everyone's heart.

The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside is complemented by von Buhler's website, [...] which has been skillfully crafted to showcase her storybook with the same attention to detail and beautiful illustrations. Click on your mouse to discover personal information about von Buhler and the inspiration for her story, an inside look at the making of the book and the Victorian house (von Buhler's childhood dollhouse), step-by-step instructions for young readers to make and showcase their own clay kitty and reviews, and valuable information for saving other cats.

Both The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside and its complementary website, [...], are extraordinary!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, October 14, 2006

By 

Isobel Dash (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside: Based on A True Story (Hardcover)

This book is destined to become a classic. The author and illustrator is talented indeed and spins a clever, humorous, and also touching tale based on a true story (she herself rescues cats). My niece already has the book memorized. And according to von Buhler's web site, she's donating part of the book's proceeds to a local animal shelter. There's nothing NOT to love about this charming book.