Review Detail

A little girl shares the tales her cat could tell (if he could only speak) in this charming rhyming picture book. The cat would begin, she informs us, with close to home musings about hiding places, being spied on by neighbor dogs, and chasing mice and bats. Then, he takes off on a ship where he wanders the foggy British coastline (drinking tea from a silver tea pot) and dines upon palace mice. In France, the kitty joins the great Tour de France bike race, wins a prize in an art gallery, and is appalled by the fashions. The girl recounts her cat's excellent adventures in Italy, Spain, Vienna, Greece, and Holland. But until he actually can tell her about them, she watches him slip away each evening and simply dreams about the tales he's storing up to tell her on the day he begins to talk.

Lovely collage illustrations lend themselves to the jaunty rhyme. The author includes two pages filled with the "Facts Behind the Story," where curious children can learn more about each country the cat visits. Kids may well be inspired to dream up more adventures for this traveling feline (or their own)!