The Amazing Hamweenie

September 3, 2012
Newcomer Bowman’s spidery ink-and-watercolor drawings have a slightly offhand feeling, just right for her portrait of a narcissistic cat and his owner. She’s a girl in a neat school uniform who pushes Hamweenie around in a perambulator and includes him in tea parties. But Hamweenie wants more: he “dreams of grandeur and stardom, of being loved the world over and idolized by children.” (A parade float, admiring crowds, and a huge Macy’s-style Hamweenie balloon give a general idea of the adulation Hamweenie is looking for.) Bowman uses the picture-versus-text device to emphasize the yawning chasm between Hamweenie’s expectations and his actual circumstances. “His living conditions are atrocious,” she writes, as Hamweenie lounges about reading a magazine called Hollywood Gossip and munching on a bag of Fishy Snacks. The setup seems to call for Hamweenie to escape and find the fame and fortune he wishes for—or else, perhaps, to encounter humiliation and return to his perambulator—but neither happens. It’s just a description of the “agonizing abuse” of Hamweenie’s day-to-day life. Still, cat owners will appreciate the all-too-accurate feline portrait. Ages 3–7. Agent: Alia Hanna Habib, McCormick & Williams.

September 15, 2012
This portrait of a pampered pet uses sly humor and illustrations with an old-fashioned feel to reveal a marmalade cat's essential feline nature. Hamweenie, the titular hero of this (not quite) epic adventure, yearns for glory. Pictured in a top hat and cloak, this debonair tomcat imagines himself a magician, the star of a parade (in person and as a large balloon) and a red-carpet habitue. He chafes against the limitations inherent to his current situation, the beloved and cosseted pet of a pony-tailed, freckle-faced little girl, and presents himself as horribly misunderstood and mistreated. Bowman's illustrations, executed in pen and ink and watercolor, are reminiscent of Edward Gorey, with round-faced, pointy-limbed creatures and decidedly odd touches. They also contradict almost every detail of her brief, deadpan text. While being forced to ride in a baby carriage or take a bath might indeed be considered a fate worse than death from a cat's point of view, Hamweenie is also shown playing a video game, reclining and reading a magazine while his owner fans him assiduously, and snubbing an extensive, if not especially appealing, feast. While obviously incorporating fantastic elements, Bowman's words and pictures nonetheless capture perfectly typical feline behavior and the fawning affection felt by many cat owners. Clever and quirky, cat lovers will approve and understand, though others may be somewhat mystified. (Picture book. 4-7)

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September 1, 2012

Gr 1-4-Hamweenie is a cat that daydreams of being adored by children and revered by the world. In his tiny red cape and teeny black top hat, he fantasizes about walking the red carpet as a star and entertaining enraptured audiences. Instead of being worshipped by the masses, he is lovingly cared for by his young girl. She bathes, fans, feeds, and otherwise fusses over her cosseted cat to his (supposed) utter dismay. As she pampers her spoiled pet, he resignedly accepts her ministrations with stalwart acquiescence of his fate in life. Though readers understand that Hamweenie would be lost on his own in the big city in which he lives and, in reality, wouldn't really want to "escape," a cat can dream, can't he? Spare narration in a tongue-in-cheek, matter-of-fact style is accompanied by Edward Goreyesque illustrations done in pen-and-ink and watercolor. This quietly humorous peek into the life of a coddled feline will resonate with those readers who have ever been owned by a cat.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2012
Preschool-G Those who've owned a cat, especially in an apartment, may recognize Hamweenie. Well, the outer Hamweenie. Inside, he is a star. He is a magician performing in front of a vast audience; a celebrity walking the red carpet. But fate has been cruel to Hamweenie. He must live with a girl who practically starves himcut to the top-hatted cat turning away from a table groaning with chicken, cake, pizza, and clams. He stands bravely against the torture that she inflicts (grooming) by knocking things over and throwing up. And though Hamweenie's attempts to escape are in vain, he waits (curled up with his mistress) with the slightest of smiles on his face. A main character named Hamweenie almost guarantees strange and delightful detail, and Bowman doesn't disappoint. Each pen, ink, and watercolor scene is a little story in itself. Hamweenie (you just can't write that name too much) dreams of being loved the world over and imagines an intricate Macy's Hamweenie balloon flying over the real version of himself, as he sits atop a float while crowds cheer. Readers will too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)