Tiptop Cat

Starred review from October 6, 2014
Every cat owner knows how much felines love to perch, and Mader’s self-possessed, black-and-white hero has found the best perch of all: the chimney tops of his owner’s Paris apartment building, where he enjoys killer views of the Eiffel Tower. Showing the same attention to feline behavior demonstrated in his debut, Lost Cat, Mader often uses multiple frames and panels to track the cat’s wanderings, mingling precision and sly humor in his pastel images. A wrong step in pursuit of a pigeon almost puts an end to it all: in a sequence of funny-scary images, the cat tumbles down story by story, past a pianist, a woman doing a yoga headstand, and a transfixed beagle before falling through an awning and into the arms of a well-positioned greengrocer. “Nothing was broken except... his spirit,” writes Mader, but with some unintended help from a like-minded connoisseur of vistas, the cat is soon “on top of the world again.” With knowing, understated narration, this is storytelling at its most elegant. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House.

October 1, 2014
A Parisian tale inspired by a real-life feline. An unnamed black-and-white cat is given to a (mostly unseen) girl as a gift. Balloons, ribbons and confetti suggest a birthday may be involved, but the focus shifts immediately to the cat as he inspects his new surroundings and makes himself at home. In a series of nearly wordless panels, he checks out cozy spots to nap, perch or hide and experiments with climbing. First it's furniture (the bathroom sink, an armoire), then he ventures outside and jumps from the balcony to the neighboring roof and beyond. The cityscape reveals that the cat lives in Paris, which may or may not resonate with young readers, depending on whether they recognize the Eiffel Tower. A chance encounter with a pigeon results in an accident that wounds the cat's pride and curbs his excursions until a second unexpected meeting with an avian interloper restores his sense of adventure. Small touches of humor reward careful observation. Mader's use of multiple panels interspersed with double-page spreads provides a sense of momentum, but the brevity of the text can feel choppy, particularly when paired with the relatively static pastel illustrations. Despite believable action and attractive pictures, this feels more like an amusing anecdote than a full-fledged adventure. (Picture book. 4-7)

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Starred review from September 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 3-Mader makes smart use of the picture book form to convey the daily life and dramatic mishaps of a city-dwelling cat. A familiar sort in many neighborhoods, this black-and-white feline, expressive and unnamed, arrives in a new home. "Of all the gifts she got that day, the best one was the cat." Long strips of small pictures follow the cat's exploration of the rooms in his new home. Oh, look! These cozy bits open to a dramatic view of the place he likes best-the balcony. This is a fine, tall apartment building, and from the balcony the cat can get to the rooftop. The varied pages of small and large scenes convey the cat's doings so effectively that this could actually work as a wordless book, but the spare text adds humor and drama. Every day, the animal climbs all the way to his favorite spot "on top of the world." High atop a robust red brick chimney, he gazes out on a crowded city with the Eiffel Tower off in the distance. The balcony/rooftop peace erupts one day with the arrival of a pigeon ("A little jungle beast awoke within the cat."). Alas, the cat's leap for the bird leads to his plunge "down...down...down." Humans make their only appearance with the cat's landing in the arms of an astonished street merchant and the subsequent visit to the vet for an x-ray. "Nothing was broken except...his spirit." The cowering feline and his subsequent varied hiding spots are a funny anti-climax, lasting only until the day a crow shows up on the balcony ("and that inner beast stirred again."). Mader's fine use of pastels and apt choices of detail, surfaces, and light and shadow provide storytelling and viewing sure to be widely enjoyed.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2014
Preschool-G *Starred Review* In another winning tale of feline misadventure, the creator of Lost Cat (2013) places a furry birthday present in a Parisian apartment that begs to be explored. The newly arrived cat paces through each tastefully appointed room, ventures out onto the balcony, then unhesitatingly expands the boundaries of his domain by climbing from balcony to roof to tiled roof, at last on top of the world! The outdoor expeditions come to an abrupt end, though, after a pigeon-chasing fall leaves the cat frightened and cowering inside, behind drapes or in the laundry basket: No more balcony, no more rooftops, no more fun. Awww. In fine, realistically detailed artwork that ranges from full-spread views to vertical rows of small, sequential scenes, Mader depicts the cat and his world from angles both low and, sometimes, vertiginously highincluding sweeping views of the city, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Though not at all anthropomorphic, the cat's feelings show with such heart-grabbing clarity that readers can't help but cheer when a cheeky crow lands on his balconycausing him to forget his fear and stalk the bird all the way back to his favored aerie. His recuperation may give readers suffering emotional backwash from their own misadventures fresh heart to try again.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)