Customer Reviews

The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the simple story of a old man and his old cat. Being an old man and a lover of cats, I certainly could relate to this particular story. There is a certain sadness to the book, but a happy sadness and a great ending. The author has told a simple tale that will appear to just about ever age. I read this one to the kids in my classes and they love it. The illustrations are great and fit perfectly with the text. I cannot remember when I have enjoyed reading a book to the young ones as much as I enjoyed this one. Recommend this one highly.

This endearing story about an old man and his almost equally aged cat is a reminder of the bond between humans and their animals.

Now, these two, the cat and the man, got along well because both were a tad crotchety. The man sometimes lost patience with the cat because as he said, "You never killed nothin'" - not a bird, not a mouse, absolutely nothing. What the cat did like was the man's potato soup, so the man reluctantly shared it.

These two did almost everything together; they even went fishing with the cat sitting in the prow of the boat looking very much like a hood ornament. Evidently, the cat loved to do that as she poked her face into the wind and seemed quite happy out on the water.

Problems arose one day when the man was already to go fishing and the cat was still asleep. So, as mentioned, he was a bit of a grump, and he decided to go without her. What was the cat supposed to do when she awoke to an empty house?

As always, Barry Root's lovely watercolor illustrations add richness to this tale of a unique, deeply felt love.

- Gail Cooke

Not, as you may have guessed, a book in the famous "The Cat Who" series by Lillian Jackson Braun. Instead, this is a simple tale of a man and his cat. Stories of this ilk are nine times out of ten relegated to the dogs of the world. We can find a million "a man and his dog" books out there, so it is that much more impressive when the companion of the tale is a little more feline. Author Terry Farish, previously disposed to writing books for young adults, and the remarkable Barry Root have teamed together to bring us a story of good old-fashioned friendship and bonding.

The book begins, "There was an old man, an ol' Texas boy, country-raised, don't you know". He lives alone with his cat, to whom he is very attached, "but not so's you'd notice". Man and cat live a nice peaceful life. When the man goes out to fish, the cat sits on the prow of the boat, though she never catches anything. Truthfully, she's never caught a thing in her whole life, a fact that the man brings up regularly. But they share bowls of potato soup together and are quite contented with their lot. You get the distinct feeling that the man is retired and that this is how he prefers to spend his days. One day, the man finds that the cat is still sleeping when he's ready to go fishing. Not one to wait too long, he leaves without her, reasoning that he doesn't need her. When the cat wakes to find the man gone (a thing that has never occurred before) she leaves home. The man comes back to an empty home and for three days the cat does not return. One day he comes home and there's the cat on the porch, one paw on the biggest fish you ever did see. The cat howls her story, which the man picks up on pretty well, and at long last the two are back in the goods. "And he loved the sight of her, oh, and this time you'd notice". And in time the cat forgives the man and, "then came sweet peace".

There's a tone to the dialogue and text of this book that's as easy and pleasant on the ear as you could hope for in a picture book. The man, for his part, is the type to mutter words like, "Fool cat. You ain't nobody's prize. Never killed nothin'". These two could be living anywhere in the continental United States, honestly. The man's grouchy, but he's never downright mean, and the cat matches him in spirit, sticking up for herself when she needs to. Alone, the book's a great read. Paired with Root's illustrations, it's a dream come true. Barry Root has somehow captured the feel and tone of this story perfectly. From the man's small ramshackle little house (note the toilet bowl under the mailbox that reads, "Junk mail") to that baseball cap the man always wears, to the truck he drives. Heck, I even liked box of Kleenex that sits forlornly on the man's dining room table. If I have any problems with the pictures in this book, perhaps Roots didn't make the man as curmudgeonly looking as he is in the text. But this is a minor/ tiny/ petty/ miniscule complaint. The book's a fantastic looking piece of work. Though you never learn the name of either the man or the cat, you don't need to. They stand on their own well enough. And this isn't a book about some grand rich person or even a person who works in a professional manner. This is about a guy who'd like nothing better than to live on his own with his cat and to go fishing every day. Remarkably, it makes fantastic reading for the young ones.

The best way to tell if you're going to like this book or not is to just take a gander at the cover. Blow it up big so that you can get a good long look at it. If the shot of that cat (her mouth smiling and the man in the back of the boat) doesn't appeal to you then you probably won't enjoy this book. But if you like cats or men or just honest straightforward storytelling, then this is the book for you. It does not aim beyond its station, but it's a strong well-told tale that you could read again and again and get a little more out of every time. I wish that all picture books could do half as much.

The Cat Who Loved Potato Soup is a book about the bond between a cat and its human, about unspoken feelings, and about a routine that mustn't be broken, one that can't be broken without a devastating hurt or perceived betrayal. After the first reading I sat there stunned by the unexpected power and impact of this little book, and loved it just as much on the second and third readings. My utter enthrallment is not just because of the potato connection, or the touching animal theme, or the incredible artwork of Barry Root. It's a combination of all those factors and so many other intangibles swirled together to create something magnificent, like a small slice of gourmet cheesecake, rich, sweet, utterly satisfying.

The folksy, colloquial style of author Terry Farish and the impressive artistry of Barry Root blend and complement each other so well that the intertwining of their individual talents creates an unforgettable tale bordering on the poetic. At first I wasn't sure I'd like the author's approach, but the more one reads the more one becomes comfortable with the folksiness and realizes there could be no other way to write this, no other way to achieve the powerful, entrancing mood and realistic flavor.

Barry Root also illustrated another of my all time favorites, the fabulous "Brave Potatoes." His artwork for The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup was done in watercolor and gouache. ( I learned by googling that gouache is a more opaque watercolor technique with a vehicle containing more pigment. Van Gogh used this technique.) Barry Root is an artist of the highest order; his artwork used for this book is worthy of an art gallery showing, of prominent display in one's home. A pity that many of the young readers of this book can't possibly appreciate his talent. Many of his illustrations are panoramic two pagers in soft amber and tints of orange. Even a cursory study of the old man's Studebaker truck reveals the artist's attention to detail.

There are many fine-tuned details within to rivet one's attention: the claw foot bathtub planter by the porch, the open toilet abutting the mailbox post for junk mail, and the nostalgic glass containers of catsup and mustard on the 50's style oval, Formica table with chrome legs and trim. The cat and the man, like the text, are wonderfully understated yet so incredibly real.


Some sites recommend this book for ages four to eight, others for grades 1-3. I shared this book at work with students aged 5-8. All seemed to enjoy the premise of the story. All seemed to like the illustrations. Yet I think middle and upper elementary readers can more fully appreciate the depth and impact of this beautiful, endearing story. The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup is a book worth seeking, a book worth reading, a book one must share, and a destination one will surely revisit. It's a feel good, tonic for the soul kind of book.

As we all know, people do not own cats. Cats own people. And that little fact of life is described wonderfully in this tale of the aloof cat who liked potato soup and the kind, caring man who liked to fish. The illustrations and story are magnificent.

This is a gentle, sweet tale that children will enjoy and parents will enjoy reading to them. The ending is satisfying and the kids will have to think about the relationship between the man and the cat. The illustrations are large and because of this, it makes this a good book to read to a large group of children.

This is a book about appreciating those you love and take for granted. It's a book about a perceived insult or hurt that wasn't meant to be such, but results in the cat (the one who perceives the insult or hurt) up and leaving. This makes the old man sad because he doesn't know why the cat left or where it went. When the cat returns, it's as wet as can be. And angry. And righteous. And it lets the old man know exactly what it thinks about being insulted. After a day of this, the relationship between the old man and his cat returns to what it had been when the book started -- except, now, the old man shows the cat how much he appreciates her.

I can't say enough about this book and how much my youngest daughter and I have enjoyed it. It is such a heartwarming story between a man and his cat, especially if you are a cat-lover. Teaches the true meaning of love, not only between a human and his pet(s) but between people as well.

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

You don't have to be a cat owner to love this finely wrought picturebook. Farish's text uses vivid imagery to lick and scratch its way into your heart. The paintings by Barry Root are watercolor and gouache, with endpapers that wrap the book in an illustrated toasty-warm electric blanket complete with cat hairs. Over 200 children loved hearing this story read aloud, and they mentioned the pages where the cat recounts her fishing experience as the most imaginative. This sparked a delightful discussion of the stories their beloved pets might tell their owners. One of the most exquisite examples of excellence in children's literature, The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup is a rare tale of the tensions of love and tenderness.