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catladybibliophile's review
Summary:
Genre:
Audience:
Life Lessons:
Recommendations/Awards: Newbery Award
Genre:
Audience:
Life Lessons:
Recommendations/Awards: Newbery Award
sammah's review
3.0
A quick, somewhat cute little fable. Not the greatest of Newbery winners, but it has its merits.
queerbooklover03's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful story told through another beautiful story.
toad_maiden's review
3.0
Wow, this one actually holds up to the 21st century! It's still a book written by a white person about another part of the world, but it the narrator at least passes no judgment.
All told, this is a fable about an artist in Japan and his cat. But it is also a short and poetic summation of the life and teachings of the Buddha. The illustrations are charming, and the character of the cat is startlingly human. It is a quick read - a grownup can read it in an hour. Stylistically, this book is a joy to read; the language is incredibly lyrical for a children's book of this era.
My biggest complaint is the ending - although not inappropriate in context, the death is sudden and described too tersely for my taste.
All told, this is a fable about an artist in Japan and his cat. But it is also a short and poetic summation of the life and teachings of the Buddha. The illustrations are charming, and the character of the cat is startlingly human. It is a quick read - a grownup can read it in an hour. Stylistically, this book is a joy to read; the language is incredibly lyrical for a children's book of this era.
My biggest complaint is the ending - although not inappropriate in context, the death is sudden and described too tersely for my taste.
aklibrarychick's review
3.0
The second of my Newbery books this summer . . . . loved this little story. I'm not sure if Coatsworth invented the story entirely, or if it's based on a Japanese folktale, but it has that dreamy, timeless quality of folklore. The artist muses on the life and death of Buddha, thereby relating many traditional Buddhist stories. Many animals came to pay respects to Buddha as he lay dying, but the cat was not welcome, because the cat, alone of all animals, refused Buddha's teachings. This saddens the artist, who believes his beloved cat has brought him good fortune in life. The cat has even been named Good Fortune.
Compassion is the main theme of this book, and it takes many forms. The housekeeper has compassion for her master, and he for her. He has compassion for his pet, and finally, Buddha exhibits compassion to Good Fortune, and to all cats.
This book is something more than a picture book, though it has lovely ink illustrations, and something less than a chapter book. It would be a quick read for most kids, though again, as with the last Newbery book I reviewed, it has limited appeal to modern children.
If you enjoy my reviews, you can read more of them at http://haikulibrarian.blogspot.com/
Compassion is the main theme of this book, and it takes many forms. The housekeeper has compassion for her master, and he for her. He has compassion for his pet, and finally, Buddha exhibits compassion to Good Fortune, and to all cats.
This book is something more than a picture book, though it has lovely ink illustrations, and something less than a chapter book. It would be a quick read for most kids, though again, as with the last Newbery book I reviewed, it has limited appeal to modern children.
If you enjoy my reviews, you can read more of them at http://haikulibrarian.blogspot.com/
tealmango's review
4.0
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-reviews-1931/
I read this book as a child as part of my homeschool curriculum. It’s about a cat who belongs to a painter who is commissioned to paint a picture of the Buddha surrounded by animals. The painter includes a cat in the picture, and he gets in a lot of trouble for doing so–apparently the cat refused to help Buddha when he was walking around on earth. But the painter’s beloved cat keeps worming its way back into the artist’s life and heart. It’s a short and sweet story that you or your pet-loving kids will really enjoy.
I read this book as a child as part of my homeschool curriculum. It’s about a cat who belongs to a painter who is commissioned to paint a picture of the Buddha surrounded by animals. The painter includes a cat in the picture, and he gets in a lot of trouble for doing so–apparently the cat refused to help Buddha when he was walking around on earth. But the painter’s beloved cat keeps worming its way back into the artist’s life and heart. It’s a short and sweet story that you or your pet-loving kids will really enjoy.
scarlettscattered's review against another edition
5.0
I knew this book was going to make me cry to no end, but I still read it. And I was right.
I was in the bus, and everyone was looking at me like I was crazy for starting to cry while finishing this book.
Complete review here.
I was in the bus, and everyone was looking at me like I was crazy for starting to cry while finishing this book.
Complete review here.