Customer Reviews

Minou

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

 

 

All three of my children, ages 2, 6, and 8, huddled around to hear this entire story! (How often does THAT happen?) The illustrations are simply beautiful, and in fact inspired my 6-year-old to experiment with more shades of color in his drawings, "like an artist." The story is intriguing, keeping my savvy 8-year-old interested to the end. We live in Paris now, so there was heightened interest to see familiar sights pictured in the story. Minou learns a valuable lesson. At the end of the story, however, I felt the message was somewhat forced. Still, I plan to give this book as Christmas gifts to all the cousins back in the U.S.A!

In a world where all too many girls' books are subtly anti-feminist, Minou is a parable for girls, both pre-reading and early reading age, that teaches the joys and pride of self sufficiency.

Girls readily identify with cats, dancers, artists, horses, and fairy tale heroines, and Minou is readily the first and the last -- but without the saccharine "Prince Charming" and his sweeping away to "Ever After" Land. Every girl I have read this book to, or read with has identified easily with Minou, and agreed that self sufficiency is far superior to dependency.

Maeno's illustrations are gorgeous, and as the "mother" of a small siamese, incredibly accurate in description and depiction.

The ending is not, as a previous reviewer stated, perfect, but it is an independent happy ending, and that alone makes this worth 4 stars.

Mindy Bingham

Minou

THIS BOOK IS VERY CUTE. i REALLY WISH i COULD HAVE I SO I COULD READ MORE TIMES. THIS BOOK IS A BOOK THAT A TEACHER RECCOMENDED TO ME IF IT WOULDNT BEEN BY THAT TEACHER I WOULDNT BE DOING THIS REVIEW. READ IT !

Minou the cat has led a pampered and contented life in Paris with her owner Madame Violette until tragedy strikes. Minou is left to fend for herself and must learn how to be self-sufficient, no easy task given her past cosseted life. Minou tries in vain to get the attention of people around her, hoping desperately that someone will become her new owner. Finally, a chance meeting with another stray, Celeste gives Minou hope.

Celeste teaches Minou the importance of self-sufficiency and independence, of being one's own boss, and not relying on anyone else for the basics in life. This message of self-sufficiency is artfully done so that the message does not come across as heavy-handed and is accessible to children. The lovely watercolor illustrations by artist Itoko Maeno bring the beauty of Paris to life with the depictions of famous places such as the Champs Elysees, the Place de la Concorde, and Notre Dame Cathedral. Readers young and old will appreciate this beautiful picture book with its powerful and accessible message of self-sufficiency and hope.

This book was first published when I was 6 years old and smack dab in the middle of its target readership. I read it over and over again to my younger sister and we would stare for what seemed like hours at the incredible pictures. We loved the cat, the inspiring story, and the fascinating pictures of Paris. Now that I have a child of my own, I'm so happy to find this book still available. I don't think it is only for girls -- I believe my son can learn a lesson from the story and appreciate the artwork as well as any girl. (He loves cats; I don't know why people think of cats as a "girly" animal.)