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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I love cats, so the appeal of a book about a little girl who is magically turned into a kitten is obvious. I was a little disappointed, though. She certainly doesn't stay a kitten for very long, and the story seemed to drag on and on after this, each adventure slightly less comprehensible than the last. The illustrations were also uneven, with some gems, like the cats surrounding Lillian, being overshadowed by the adult-like portrayal of the little girl in others. I've just learned that The Cats of Tanglewood Forest was written as a younger children's book first, so I'm going to track it down next.
Gorgeously illustrated and expanded version of de Lint's older story. A young girl, exploring the forest, changes into a cat - and back - or not, to learn about actions and consequences. De Lint crafts magic, a world I fully immerse myself in while I'm reading.
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Sorry! My cat, Perseus, wanted to share his thoughts, but he's not so good at typing. Allow me to interpret. He says that cats are in fact magical and that Charles de Lint and Charles Vess are very wise and talented men. I happen to agree with Percy's assessment. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is a fantastic read and a feast for the eyes.
Usually, I don't talk much about the physical book itself in my reviews, but I have to spend some time on just how incredibly breathtaking The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is. As you can see from the cover, the illustrations are beautiful. My only quibble with Vess' artwork would be that his people look a bit creepy at times, but he excels at other animals and nature. All throughout the book, his illustrations appear in full color and it's worth taking time to really look at them. As an added bonus, if you remove the dust jacket, there's a different illustration underneath, and it's beautiful as well. Everything about the packaging of this book is beautiful.
The movie The Aristocats includes a song called "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat." Turns out that's not true. Young Lillian is out wandering the forest near her home one day when she gets tired and settles down to a nap. While she's sleeping, a poisonous snake bites her. As she's laying there dying, the wild cats of the forest come upon her and decide, at the risk of angering the Father of Cats, to save this girl who leaves milk out for them. The cats have magic, as much in the forest does. They turn her into a kitten, which sets her on a journey to recover her girl body and to do so with her life just as she left it (minus the snakebite).
Unsurprisingly, the non-human animals really steal the show. My personal favorite is the fox, T. H. Reynolds, a very fine and upstanding gent. Though naturally a predator to kittens, he becomes Lillian's ally in her quest. He's funny, sly, and completely adorable. I love that the animals all work together, but retain their individual natures, not really coming across as particularly anthopomorphized, but more like the reader can now understand their way of communication.
One of the main themes woven neatly throughout The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is that of being kind to those in the world around you. Lillian leaves extra chicken feed out for the undomesticated birds, milk out for the wild cats, and biscuits out for the Apple Tree Man. She doesn't do this in expectation of help, but, in the end, her generosity earns her help when she needs it. Lillian's trusting nature and kindness are what make her capable of achieving her happy ending. De Lint gets this message across without any sort of preaching at all.
Whether the story itself interests you or not, it's worth picking up a copy for the gorgeous illustrations, and you just might find yourself sucked into the story as well. This is an excellent story to read with younger children or for middle grade independent readers.
Sorry! My cat, Perseus, wanted to share his thoughts, but he's not so good at typing. Allow me to interpret. He says that cats are in fact magical and that Charles de Lint and Charles Vess are very wise and talented men. I happen to agree with Percy's assessment. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is a fantastic read and a feast for the eyes.
Usually, I don't talk much about the physical book itself in my reviews, but I have to spend some time on just how incredibly breathtaking The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is. As you can see from the cover, the illustrations are beautiful. My only quibble with Vess' artwork would be that his people look a bit creepy at times, but he excels at other animals and nature. All throughout the book, his illustrations appear in full color and it's worth taking time to really look at them. As an added bonus, if you remove the dust jacket, there's a different illustration underneath, and it's beautiful as well. Everything about the packaging of this book is beautiful.
The movie The Aristocats includes a song called "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat." Turns out that's not true. Young Lillian is out wandering the forest near her home one day when she gets tired and settles down to a nap. While she's sleeping, a poisonous snake bites her. As she's laying there dying, the wild cats of the forest come upon her and decide, at the risk of angering the Father of Cats, to save this girl who leaves milk out for them. The cats have magic, as much in the forest does. They turn her into a kitten, which sets her on a journey to recover her girl body and to do so with her life just as she left it (minus the snakebite).
Unsurprisingly, the non-human animals really steal the show. My personal favorite is the fox, T. H. Reynolds, a very fine and upstanding gent. Though naturally a predator to kittens, he becomes Lillian's ally in her quest. He's funny, sly, and completely adorable. I love that the animals all work together, but retain their individual natures, not really coming across as particularly anthopomorphized, but more like the reader can now understand their way of communication.
One of the main themes woven neatly throughout The Cats of Tanglewood Forest is that of being kind to those in the world around you. Lillian leaves extra chicken feed out for the undomesticated birds, milk out for the wild cats, and biscuits out for the Apple Tree Man. She doesn't do this in expectation of help, but, in the end, her generosity earns her help when she needs it. Lillian's trusting nature and kindness are what make her capable of achieving her happy ending. De Lint gets this message across without any sort of preaching at all.
Whether the story itself interests you or not, it's worth picking up a copy for the gorgeous illustrations, and you just might find yourself sucked into the story as well. This is an excellent story to read with younger children or for middle grade independent readers.
This was a delight, and a much quicker read than I expected; while the book's more than 200 pages long, a fair number of the pages are art plates, or have illustrations interwoven into the text, and Charles Vess' artwork is gorgeous. I'm not sure how much of the tale is based on contemporary folklore and how much of it's original, but the premise is charming. Set in the Ozarks, which are a familiar stamping ground for stories that fall under the Newford umbrella of tales, the story is about Lillian, a 12 year old girl growing up in a small rural community at the edge of Tanglewood Forest and close to the local Kickaha reservation. She lives with her aunt, who runs one of the small farms in the area, and spends her days working, learning, and playing - her imagination populates the woods with a mix of characters like the Apple Tree Man, the spirit of the oldest apple tree in her nearby orchard, and characters from tales her Aunt and others tell about others like the Father of Cats.
One day, Lillian's sleeping in the woods near an ancient beech tree when she gets bitten by a snake - and the local feral cat population, who she regularly leaves food out for, decide to save her using cat magic, despite knowing that the Father of Cats will be upset with them. Their magic turns Lillian into a tortie kitten, saving her from the snakebite - but also leaving her with all her memories, and trapped somewhere between both worlds; while she looks like a kitten and can now talk with other animals, her reflection is that of her human self.
With help and advice from others - including Mother Possum, a dashing fox whose mother named him T. H. (for Trustworthy and Handsome, we're assured) and others, Lillian tries to change things back to where they were, and learns about unforseen consequences, how to change her life, and how to battle challenges she never imagined facing. There's a nice dose of magic and mythology in here; I particularly liked the story about how the stars came to appear in the night sky, and I need to find out if there's a sequel, so I can find out what Lillian's promise ended up costing her...
One day, Lillian's sleeping in the woods near an ancient beech tree when she gets bitten by a snake - and the local feral cat population, who she regularly leaves food out for, decide to save her using cat magic, despite knowing that the Father of Cats will be upset with them. Their magic turns Lillian into a tortie kitten, saving her from the snakebite - but also leaving her with all her memories, and trapped somewhere between both worlds; while she looks like a kitten and can now talk with other animals, her reflection is that of her human self.
With help and advice from others - including Mother Possum, a dashing fox whose mother named him T. H. (for Trustworthy and Handsome, we're assured) and others, Lillian tries to change things back to where they were, and learns about unforseen consequences, how to change her life, and how to battle challenges she never imagined facing. There's a nice dose of magic and mythology in here; I particularly liked the story about how the stars came to appear in the night sky, and I need to find out if there's a sequel, so I can find out what Lillian's promise ended up costing her...
Really enjoyed reading this book. One of the better YA books, I think, because it doesn't dumb things down for the reader.
Overall, I liked this book. The art was beautiful and the writing was decent. The story was interesting, but I feel like it could've been much better. The setting of the story takes place next to a reservation, which I felt like was a wasted opportunity for some much needed accurate representation of Native American culture and people. When the magical part of the journey began, it was almost reminiscent of The Snow Queen and with what already promised to be a much butchered version by Disney coming out soon, it would have been cool to see a completely different interpretation. As it was, that wasn't the story. My only other complaint was that this book seemed to be talking down to it's readers. This is pretty common in children's lit, but the characters literally talked about all the different morals and lessons that Lillian learned on her journey.
Lovely and enchanting.
The illustrations are gorgeous, and De Lint tells a story with subtle moral lessons without losing any of the magic and wonder. Your actions have consequences and sometimes bad things happen, but throughout Lillian's journey, the writer encourages that all will be well.
The animals of Tanglewood Forest are as real as anyone (which can be interpreted many ways once you read this book), and I found a particular fox very engaging. Lillian has a kinship with them that endears her to the reader without overshadowing her own spunky personality.
Overall, a simple but sweet book.
The illustrations are gorgeous, and De Lint tells a story with subtle moral lessons without losing any of the magic and wonder. Your actions have consequences and sometimes bad things happen, but throughout Lillian's journey, the writer encourages that all will be well.
The animals of Tanglewood Forest are as real as anyone (which can be interpreted many ways once you read this book), and I found a particular fox very engaging. Lillian has a kinship with them that endears her to the reader without overshadowing her own spunky personality.
Overall, a simple but sweet book.
An absolutely charming story with beautiful illustrations that interacted somewhat with the text.
Ugh this book is too cute. Charles de Lint was recommended to me in a comment thread about contemporary fantasy/fairy tale literature and I just requested the one with cats in the title. I didn't realize it was a children's book (not like a picture book, but , but I'm so glad I got it. Very much in the vein of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (but without the wooden phrasing), beautifully told, full of subtle social justice and feminism, and one of the most beautifully designed and illustrated books I've seen in a long time (in fact, it's one of the only novels I've ever seen illustrated like Oz, with full plates, but also illustrations making up full pages spreads with text overlaid).
This is a lovely book that reads like a cozy bedtime fable. It reminded me a tad of Spirited Away. There's a main female character, she must apply hard labor, humility, and respect to solving a problem where no adults can help her, there's witches (!), and of course, all of this happens under the suggestion of a supernatural world that maybe is or isn't there, hiding in plain sight.
The large amount of illustrations in this book are half the charm. The foliage is fuzzy at the edges, creating a vintage feel that is reminiscent of the kind of artwork in the picture books my dad had as a child.
The only critique I have for this book is, if you're going to imply in writing that some of the characters are Native American and that their skin is darker, I would hope to see this in the illustrations as well. The main character definitely seems white, yet you can barely tell the difference between her skin tone and theirs in the same picture.
The large amount of illustrations in this book are half the charm. The foliage is fuzzy at the edges, creating a vintage feel that is reminiscent of the kind of artwork in the picture books my dad had as a child.
The only critique I have for this book is, if you're going to imply in writing that some of the characters are Native American and that their skin is darker, I would hope to see this in the illustrations as well. The main character definitely seems white, yet you can barely tell the difference between her skin tone and theirs in the same picture.