Cat Wishes

May 1, 2018
A skeptical cat who disavows wishes finds himself pleasantly surprised.Hungry and alone in a "windy wood," Cat wishes for something to eat. When he catches a snake, the snake makes a bargain. If Cat spares his life, the snake will grant Cat's wish. Cat replies, "No such thing as a wish," but he releases the snake anyway. Wiggling away, the snake promises Cat three wishes. Still hungry and unconvinced, Cat wishes for a Fish--and his wish is granted. As it starts to rain, Cat's wet and still unconvinced, but he wishes for a house. Soon Cat's curled up before the fireplace in "his very own house." Waking up alone in the dark house, Cat still pooh-poohs wishing, but nevertheless, he wishes for a friend--with unexpected results. The spare text relies on clever placement of onomatopoeic words such as "rustle," "pad," "splash," "burp," "plop," "sniff," and "shuff," to effectively convey Cat's sensory world. Soft-edged illustrations in pale watercolor washes and digital media visually portray Cat's environment, emphasizing his solitary condition as he stalks, crouches, coils, pounces, pads, and runs on "whisper feet" across the atmospheric double-page spreads. His expressive face and body tell their own story.A gentle, feel-good feline fantasy. (Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from May 21, 2018
While wandering through soft, sepia-toned woods, a gray-and-white-striped cat surprises a snake. “Spare my life,” the snake pleads. “I’ll grant you what you wish.” Cat is skeptical: “No such thing as a wish,” he declares. Yet the next three things Cat wishes for—something to eat, shelter from the rain, a friend—mysteriously appear, and the cat’s sideways glances signal that his doubts may be shifting. The friend who arrives turns out to have had a trio of wishes granted herself; some kind of mysterious intervention has brought the two together. Illustrations by Pak (Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter) recall the work of Jon Klassen with their emphasis on contours rather than on mass or volume, creating a world with shifting veils of translucent color. Brill (Tugboat Bill and the River Rescue) writes with crisp economy, using sound and sense words effectively (“Shuff, shuff, shuff came a footstep”). Her story fulfills its characters’ deepest yearning with quiet magic—one that readers might find for themselves, she hints, if they believed there were such things as wishes. Ages 4–7.

June 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-Although hungry Cat doesn't believe in wishes, the feline releases Snake after it promises, "I'll grant you what you wish." Cat remains skeptical even after its wish for a fish delivers several. "No such thing as a wish," Cat repeats just as a wish for a house in which to shelter from the rain produces a fine little house with a "toasty fireplace." Curled asleep before that fire, the tabby suddenly awakens and, alone and frightened in the dark house, wishes for a friend. In walks a little girl who has also met Snake and been granted three similar wishes. Cat and girl, now nestled cozily together, become the answer to one another's third wish-a friend. Pak's watercolor and digital media illustrations are executed in a predominately brown and gray palette, making his spare use of color all the more striking. From eyes lowered and paw raised to wipe off the remains of a fish dinner, to ears sticking straight out, body stretched across a spread as it catches a whiff of a blazing hearth, striped Cat's every expression belies the repeated conviction it expresses right to the end when, purring contentedly in Girl's lap, it maintains, "No such thing as a wish." VERDICT Readers will enjoy knowing what Cat refuses to admit: wishes do come true. Pair this tongue-in-cheek offering with other fairy tales for an engaging storytime.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.