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PUSS IN BOOTS by Lincoln Kirstein

PUSS IN BOOTS

adapted by Lincoln Kirstein & illustrated by Alain Vaës

Pub Date: March 1st, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-89506-7
Publisher: Little, Brown

A cinematic expansion of Perrault's (uncredited) story in large, elaborately illustrated format. Kirstein adds explanatory detail typical of a dramatization, some of it reflecting 20th- century concerns—e.g., the miller's older sons, ``worried about his failing memory,'' force him to write a will. Also, the cat uses a magic feather to restore the fields ravaged by the ogre, and is last seen lording it over some mice who are polishing the boots he's turned to gold. There's nothing terribly wrong with these additions, but they don't add much, either. Vaâs, a costume designer for the New York City Ballet, provides a sumptuous, meticulously detailed setting recalling the Louis XIV era, depicting peasants and nobles with satirical glee (W. C. Fields plays the king) and the cat with the wry precision of an affectionate longtime observer of his species. Overblown, perhaps, but there's much to admire in the skillfully crafted art with its multitude of 17th-century references. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-9)