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THE SECRET CAT

Name: THE SECRET CAT
Author: Katarina Strömgård
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5511-4

by Katarina Strömgård ; illustrated by Katarina Strömgård ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019

A satisfying story by a talented artist.

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A girl discovers a world of secret pets that exists only at night in this Swedish import.

When her mom says she can’t have a pet—a “real” pet, with fur—narrator Lucy goes to bed disappointed. But that night, she hears scratching in the wall by her bed. A purring voice tells her to guess its name and it will come to her. She whispers, “Silvring,” and a cat, who is outlined in white but otherwise invisible, crawls out onto Lucy’s bed. Silvring knows just what she needs and wants to do. They go outside and climb a tree and see other people out walking their own secret pets, all of which are unusual and dreamlike: fish in the air, a polar bear, and then a huge, dangerous, pink-and-red, flying creature walked by a robed figure in a beaked plague mask. Luckily, Silvring grows big too, and she protects Lucy. They return home tired, and Silvring is gone come morning, “Because during the day, the secret animals sleep inside the walls, hidden behind the wallpaper.” The watercolor-and-ink illustrations are skillfully rendered in deep blue and pink tones that effectively carry readers into Lucy’s nighttime fantasy, Silvring often just a suggestion of blue daubs on lighter blue. The story’s intense emotions of longing are impressively real. Lucy and her mother both present black; Lucy wears her hair in afro puffs.

A satisfying story by a talented artist. (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8028-5511-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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MAGIC CANDIES

by Heena Baek ; illustrated by Heena Baek ; translated by Sophie Bowman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2021

An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship.

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A child finds connection to the world all around in this Korean import.

The illustrations in this unusual picture book achieve a 3-D effect reminiscent of claymation. The opening scene shows an aerial view of a playground scattered with maple and gingko leaves; a tethered dog watches a child aiming at marbles. Accustomed to spending time alone and solitary play, Tong Tong’s fertile imagination infuses a bag of assorted spherical hard candies with powers that give voice to unlikely speakers, such as the living room sofa and Marbles the old dog, each speaking with Tong Tong to share a sentient perspective. The hard candies also channel the tough love hidden within Tong Tong’s father and Grandma’s bubbly, reassuring voice emanating from another realm. The candies’ magic reveals yet another dimension when Tong Tong is drawn outdoors to witness nature’s beauty as copious falling leaves bid farewell to the season. Through these uncanny exchanges, Tong Tong not only makes surprising discoveries, but also delves into complex emotions, celebrates a continuing relationship with Grandma, and takes courageous steps toward a tantalizing conclusion. The enhanced artwork establishes depth and perspective, featuring details some may find initially unsettling—along with the cryptic, open-ended narrative. That said, depictions of facial expressions are skillful and endearing, and the interplay between text and illustrations will cause readers to linger and ponder.

An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5420-2959-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
MOON POPS
by Heena Baek ; illustrated by Heena Baek ; translated by Jieun Kiaer

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CAVE PAINTINGS

by Jairo Buitrago ; illustrated by Rafael Yockteng ; translated by Elisa Amado ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2020

Celebrated collaborators deliver another thoughtful delight, revealing how “making marks” links us across time and space.

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A trip to grandmother’s launches light-years beyond the routine sort, as a human child travels from deep space to Earth.

The light-skinned, redheaded narrator journeys alone as flight attendants supply snacks to diverse, interspecies passengers. The kid muses, “Sometimes they ask me, ‘Why are you always going to the farthest planet?’ ”The response comes after the traveler hurtles through the solar system, lands, and levitates up to the platform where a welcoming grandmother waits: “Because it’s worth it / to cross one universe / to explore another.” Indeed, child and grandmother enter an egg-shaped, clear-domed orb and fly over a teeming savanna and a towering waterfall before disembarking, donning headlamps, and entering a cave. Inside, the pair marvel at a human handprint and ancient paintings of animals including horses, bison, and horned rhinoceroses. Yockteng’s skilled, vigorously shaded pictures suggest references to images found in Lascaux and Chauvet Cave in France. As the holiday winds down, grandmother gives the protagonist some colored pencils that had belonged to grandfather generations back. (She appears to chuckle over a nude portrait of her younger self.) The pencils “were good for making marks on paper. She gave me that too.” The child draws during the return trip, documenting the visit and sights along the journey home. “Because what I could see was infinity.” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.8-by-19.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 85% of actual size.)

Celebrated collaborators deliver another thoughtful delight, revealing how “making marks” links us across time and space. (Picture book. 5-9)