The Porcelain Cat [Hardcover]

Michael Patrick Hearn (Author), Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Rats are gnawing at the sorcerer's books. What to do? Get a cat-but not just any cat. The sorcerer sends his apprentice nickon to fetch a missing ingredient for a spell that will bring his porcelain cat to life. Nickon ventures out on his mission and learns you can't get something for nothing. Beautifully printed in a new 10 x 10 format and in five colors.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3 ``You scratch my back. . .'' is the way the world, and this tale, works: an old formula but a reliable one, in an enchanted, elegant new guise. In this version the magician gets his basilisk blood when the witch gets her shellfish from the undine, who gets her mushrooms from the centaur, when the magician's apprentice climbs a tree to get him some ripe fruit (this is the weakest link). The point that ``a bargain is a bargain'' is clearly but amusingly made, and the conclusion is a clever surprise (somewhat muted by a puzzling final image). The Dillons create a magical nightworld for the tale, all attenuated art nouveau curves; flat planes of muted color; and stylized, elongated forms. Strange moon-faces haunt the starry sky, and cats hide behind trees and float in cloud-shapes above. (Don't miss the Escher-like endpapers.) This first Hearn-Dillon collaboration is a ``smashing'' success; a book to read, and to pore over. Patricia Dooley, formerly at Drexel University, Phila.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 3. Hearn's lively original fairy tale, first published in 1987, has been newly illustrated by the Dillons in lush, beautifully detailed paintings, gold-framed, that combine intense feeling with the formality of illuminated manuscripts. The cumulative tale winds up tight one way and then unravels in reverse. A sorcerer wants to bring his porcelain cat to life, so he orders his young apprentice, Nickon, to obtain a vial of basilisk blood from a witch, who promises the vial only if Nickon gets her shellfish from a maiden, who wants mushrooms guarded by a centaur, who . . . . Nickon gives all of them what they demand, finally returning to the sorcerer, who brings the cat to life. The ending, though a bit of a surprise, is a letdown, but the storytelling and the pictures capture the brave, desperate boy with the angry characters in a moonlit, tangled wood, and the child's yearning to be free. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Milk & Cookies Press; Gold ed edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159687175X
• ISBN-13: 978-1596871755
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,460,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love the Dillons!!, September 23, 2004

By 

S. J Reid "shannon-reid" (munroe falls, oh United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Porcelain Cat (Hardcover)

I automatically buy any book that I notice is done by Leo and Diane Dillon, so when I noticed this one, of course, I had to preorder it. I thought the story was enjoyable and had a good ending, which pulled everything together nicely. The only drawback is that a couple of the illustrations were a little blurry. Either they were scanned poorly, or they were enlarged from their original size. It don't think this should dissuade anyone from buying this book, though - it's beautiful and worth the purchase.

3.0 out of 5 stars Are some of the words a barrier to book's enjoyment...., July 16, 2009

By 

TNreader (barefoot in Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Porcelain Cat (Hardcover)

Even though Amazon.com suggests this book for ages 4 to 8, I have some reservations. There is terminology of fables (i.e., sorcerer, basilisk, undine, centaur) throughout the story. I wonder if this age group can fully understand and appreciate the story's intent.