Amazon.com Review
Charles Perrault first published his collection of classic French folk tales 300 years ago, including "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," and this entertaining story about a most clever feline. In
Puss and Boots, a poor miller dies and leaves his youngest son nothing but a cat. The son is none too happy about it, either; " ...once I've eaten my cat and made a muff out of the fur, I'm sure to starve," he says. But what a legacy the bequeathed cat turns out to be! The cat in tall boots creates a new identity for the youngest son--the Marquis of Carabas, complete with fine clothes, fields of wheat, a castle stolen from an ogre, and in the end, the respect of the king and the hand of the king's daughter. The story itself is gracefully and humorously told, and the text, set in large gray type, adds an old-fashioned air to the tale.
Fred Marcellino's illustrations for Puss in Boots--a Caldecott Honor Book--are infused with golden light and summer warmth in the sun-dappled woods and beside the fields of ripe grain. Many of his paintings show a masterful use of perspective; the reader sometimes looks down on a scene as though from a balcony, or from below, at a huge charging lion. Marcellino has also illustrated a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier and two books by Tor Seidler, A Rat's Tale and The Wainscott Weasel. Young listeners won't soon forget this crafty character of a cat, who has a great deal of charm despite his less-than-honest means of helping his master. (Ages 5 to 9)
From Publishers Weekly
Perrault's tale of the cat who makes his master's fortune has never received a more faithful yet remarkably original treatment. Marcellino ( A Rat's Tale ) breaks convention from the start by relegating the book's title and credits to the back cover. The front cover is stunning: the mysterious feline, wearing a white ruffled collar and plumed red hat, stares out with green eyes as compelling and evocative as the story itself. The artist's luxurious and skillfully designed paintings startle in their complexity and beauty. Light and shadow mingle on tiled floors, through goblets, in courtyards. The simplicity of the cobblestoned streets and the peasant scenes are contrasted with the beribboned finery of the court, where the King--in a pink sash and lacy pantaloons--sits on a gilded throne. Like Cyrano do Bergerac, Marcellino's Puss has genuine panache. Sporting only his famed boots, he waits patiently in dappled sunlight for a stray hare or, with apparent nonchalance, entraps the wide-eyed ogre. Whether he is presenting his kill to the dandified King or is coiled like any ordinary cat on a carpet at the Marquis's banquet, he seems both true feline and fairy-tale creation at the same time. From Arthur's clean, clear translation to Marcellino's opulent illustrations, this version of Perrault's classic story is brilliantly conceived and executed. All ages.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
