From Publishers Weekly
Duncan's (I Know What You Did Last Summer; The Longest Hair in the World) lyrical riff on the nature of the cat untwines at a leisurely pace, in hushed verse that hints at the wildness lurking just beneath the surface. The effect is somehow both soothing and slightly mysterious, a contrast echoed in Johnson and Fancher's (My Many Colored Days) illustrations. For instance, a hypnotic image paired with "I like the taste of cream,/ But while I drink I dream/ Of birds and fishes" emulates the murky green half-light of the ocean depths; in the bottom right corner, a cat watches as a school of stylized fish swirls upward, slowly metamorphosing into a flock of birds. Using oil paint and string on paper--a medium that lends additional interest by mimicking the rough texture of pastels--Johnson and Fancher lean toward twilight tones. Laden with shadows, the overall effect is dreamy and atmospheric, and makes for grand bedtime fare--although cat fanciers will enjoy it any time of day or night. Ages 5-9. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-Soft, luminescent illustrations created with string and oil paints on textured paper highlight this pleasant, though unexceptional short poetic description of a cat's multifaceted personality-docile pet by day, untamed beast in dreams, adventurer by night. The double-page images are carefully crafted and artistically presented. The only jarring element in this eye-pleasing package is the placement of text in boxes of pale color that often contrast too sharply with the deep twilight shades against which they are set. Alice Schertle's I Am the Cat (Lothrop, 1999) is a short volume of descriptive verse, humorously illustrated, that young cat lovers will relish.
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
