From Publishers Weekly
In his first book, Light retells this Charles Perrault classic with a wry touch and embellishes his narrative with stylized collages. His concluding note explains that the art was inspired by the work of French Rococo artists, especially that of Jean-Honor‚ Fragonard, as well as by French decorative wallpapers. The hand-stamped paper featuring various patterns at times competes with the compositions, rather than enhancing them (especially when a similar pattern appears in the sky and on the walls of the king's palace). But more often, the patterns' designs and elegant palettes give these pages a sophistication that the artist offsets, quite creatively, with childlike renderings of faces or figures in geometric shapes (especially that of the ogre, which keeps the fright to a safe minimum). Befitting his starring role, the clever title character steals the spotlight visually: her image is shaped from a striped French provincial fabric, her jacket and hat are cut from a bold, vermilion pattern and her prominent, oversize boots stand out as the only shock of black in the pictures. Though Light pares the narrative to a minimal length, a small type size and relatively complex vocabulary recommend this as a read-aloud or for more experienced readers. A noteworthy debut. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grades 1-4--Inspired by the work of the French Rococo artist Jean-Honor‚ Fragonard and by French decorative wallpapers, Light created patterned papers onto which he collaged the main illustrations for this story. The results are bright, busy, cheery spreads that suit his lighthearted retelling. Sinuous swirls and curves abound. Puss, here a clever female feline with a body rendered in striped fabric, is adorned in stylish black boots that reach up to her thighs and a waistcoat that, while a bit worn and stained, resembles elaborate red French-provincial fabric. The king, in royal purple with fleur-de-lis decoration, is ever smiling as his daughter demurely looks on in her pale peach dress and skyscraper hairdo. The text, which appears in large type below each spread, is relatively brief and humorous. When the king compliments the miller's son on his property, the young man replies, "It is surprisingly productive, sire." The ogre answers Puss's praise of his castle with, "It's simple, but it's home." Some scary elements have been toned down as well. Puss enlists the peasants' help in her scheme by offering reward rather than punishment, and the ogre is amazingly polite-a fact that does not, however, save him from being devoured in the end. This enjoyable retelling would be a welcome addition to folktale collections.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CTCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
