Magic is the ultimate cat. As he sits in the doorway looking outside, he considers going out to chase loons, or maybe watching somebody else chase them—like the dog. But he’s hungry so maybe he could catch a salmon or watch the bears catch one and share it and when ready, he could ride Moose home across the lake again—or maybe not. Or maybe he should just stay put. Cooper has captured feline behavior and attitude to a T in both story and art. His illustrations of rotund, pear-shaped Magic are a departure from his previous small, wispy images such as in Ice Cream (2002), as he uses full-blown perspectives to project Magic’s point-of-view. The result is totally charming and could only be achieved by someone who thoroughly knows cats; voilà, a photograph of the real Magic (at 18 pounds) is on the back cover. No maybes about it, this very large, very round, very imaginative cat will work his magic on readers, grown or not, who will purr with delight over his story. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-058164-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2004
Mouse’s First Christmas (32 pp.; $12.00; Oct. 1; 0-689-82325-8) Arriving in the snowy avalanche of holiday titles, this book begins with a bit of rhymed play on the beginning of Clement Moore’s poem, as Mouse investigates something “sweet and sparkly,” a cookie, “warm and melty” hot cocoa, and so on through candy, bells, angels, candles, presents, the tree, and finally, Santa himself. The language is either twee or pedestrian, and doesn’t really engage readers or onlookers in Mouse’s mission. The illustrations are done in thick holiday pigments: reds, greens, blues, and golds; the typeface is occasionally treated playfully. Insubstantial but wrapped prettily. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82325-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
In this picture book adventure of a now-familiar duo (Cat and Mouse and Something to Do, 1998, etc.), Bogacki describes how the curious cat and the curious mouse explore the green meadow turned white with snow. The two friends climb up the hill, then slide down, down, down. Meanwhile the other mice and cats wake up and go outside to find their siblings. They come upon the two friends covered in white snow and mistake them for monsters. Shrieks turn to delight, and everyone has a great time playing in the snow. When night comes they return to their respective homes to dream of snow. The soft chalk illustrations in grey, tan, and white on blue paper show flat stylized animals in a snowy world. Children will enjoy the brief repetitive text; adults will be glad to have an appealing alternative to Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-31192-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
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