Tale of Two Kitties,Used

From Publishers WeeklySmith's (Gourmet Cats) punriddled, tongueincheek caper may be about a pair of felines, but the title's Dickensian spin may be deceiving: it is actually a tale of many cities and could be an overlong trip for all but the most enthusiastic cat lovers. The volume recounts the roundtheworld journey of Agatha Cat and her daughter, Jessica, who leave 1899 England in search of Agatha's sister, Rosemary. Frequently changing residences (and paramours), Rosemary remains a step ahead of the duo, whose alternating journal entries along with Jessica's drawings chronicle their sevenyear quest. Text and artwork convey the customs and costumes of each locale and tweak cultural icons. Agatha and Jessica encounter one Mr. Hercule Purrot aboard the Orient Express; and in San Francisco, "the Great Catruso, the famous opera singer" serenades them at dinner. Cats also replace humans in Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Manet's Le Djeuner sur l'Herbe. The gouache pictures retain a subtle wink throughout, but the overall theme eventually wears thin. The suffragettes' cause loses meaning, for example, when translated into the "Suffracat" movement. Much of the humor will elude children, and the tiny stylized typeface may be occasionally difficult for readers to decipher. Despite the high points on this peripatetic journey, it is a bumpy ride. Ages 48.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Product DescriptionAgatha Cat embarks on a journey around the world in 1899 with her daughter, Jessica, to find her sister and inform her of a large inheritance left to them by their Uncle Septimus Felinus.From School Library JournalGr 4 UpA picture book for sophisticated readers. Upon the death of a rich uncle, Agatha Cat and her daughter Jessica embark on a roundtheworld journey from 1899 to 1906 in search of Agatha's sister, Rosemary, who is to share the inheritance. At each place they visit, they see some local sights and customs and sometimes experience historic events, such as the San Francisco earthquake. Rosemary, however, has always just left for another country. The long, meandering narrative has a complex sentence structure, and both the language and the art are sophisticated. Throughout the story there are puns and humorous asides; some will appeal primarily to adults, and some, such as the veiled reference to a feline streetwalker in Paris, seem in questionable taste for a children's book. The lush color illustrations are filled with humorous details as well. Mice appear in nooks and crannies and famous works of art are shown with cat subjects substituted for humans. There are liftout letters in envelopes and a foldout map. The story is primarily a device to expose readers to aspects of the countries the cats visit, which works well. There is much to enjoy in this book, but the questionable audience and the fragile construction of the inserts render it an unlikely library purchase.Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.