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A review by pwbalto
The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem “Pangur Bán” by Jo Ellen Bogart
5.0
I love this story. "Pangur Ban" is a 9th century poem written by a monk, who compares his patient and solitary studies to his cat's patient stalking of mice. It has so much air in it, so much quiet peace, that it would work as a bedtime book - but it is so timeless that it could prompt let's-look-that-up inquiries into monastic life.
Sydney Smith, who also painted the contemplative Sidewalk Flowers, does AMAZING work here. The book begins with several wordless pages of the cat's progress through the nighttime monastery, the grays and browns of the stone architecture warming as the cat joins the monk in his cell. All the text is painted, in a rounded, brushy calligraphy. Smith shows us the brilliantly colored manuscript the monk is reading, and as dawn breaks, color again filters into the real world of the monastery. SO GOOD.
Gonna work great this year as a companion to The Inquisitor's Tale.
Sydney Smith, who also painted the contemplative Sidewalk Flowers, does AMAZING work here. The book begins with several wordless pages of the cat's progress through the nighttime monastery, the grays and browns of the stone architecture warming as the cat joins the monk in his cell. All the text is painted, in a rounded, brushy calligraphy. Smith shows us the brilliantly colored manuscript the monk is reading, and as dawn breaks, color again filters into the real world of the monastery. SO GOOD.
Gonna work great this year as a companion to The Inquisitor's Tale.