Wanda Gág Honor Books 2007
My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World written and illustrated by Gilles
Bachelet, and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. Originally
published as Mon chat le plus
bête du monde by Éditions du
Seuil in 2004. Translated from French.
A painter, appearing in a
dressing gown, narrates this story about his very fat, sweet, and silly cat.
According to the straightforward text, the cat especially likes to ea
t,
sleep, and keep clean. The very funny illustrations show the “cat” engaged
in all of the above activities, except that this cat is actually an
elephant! The elephant is often shown in a series of vignettes, such as
those that describe his
cleanliness. The colorful paintings enhanced with pen-and-ink portray him
licking himself clean, spraying himself with toilet water, and sweeping his
elephantine body with a vacuum cleaner.
Children from the
ages of two through eight enjoyed this book. During the reading, one
two-year-old walked up to touch the elephant on the page several times.
Kindergartners especially liked this unique story. The students kept saying
“It’s not a cat!” and then laughed and pointed at what they found funny. The
kindergartners, who wanted the book read again and again “could have looked at
the illustrations forever.”
Gilles Bacheletlives in Cambrai, France where he has taught illustration at the École
Supérieure d'Art.
One Potato, Two Potato written by Cynthia DeFelice,
illustrated by Andrea U'Ren, and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Mr. and Mrs. Grady, who are elderly, poor, and lonely, live
in a small cottage with just one of every thing: one coat, one blanket, one
chair. Their garden on a bare, rocky hillside yields one potato per day. This is
the couple’s breakfast, lunch, and supper. One day while digging in the potato
patch, Mr. Grady finds a huge, black pot. He carries it home to show his wife,
and they soon discover that whatever is dropped in it is doubled. One hairpin,
one potato, and one cold coin each become two. When Mrs. Grady accidentally
falls into the pot, her husband pulls out two identical wives. To make things
even, Mr. Grady jumps in and also gets doubled. Now they have their greatest
wish, each has a friend. The couples decide they now have everything they could
ever want and so bury the magic pot for someone else to find. Pen and gouache
illustrations in earthy tones emphasize the couple’s poverty.
Children from ages four through nine listened intently to this story and enjoyed chanting “one potato, two potato.” They found the story exciting and liked making predictions about the magic pot. They also laughed at the illustrations of Mrs. Grady falling into the pot and Mr. Grady jumping in. Readers appreciated the theme of receiving, but not abusing, good fortune. Teachers noted that the book is helpful for learning the mathematical concept of doubling.
Author
Cynthia DeFelice lives in Geneva NY, and illustrator
Andrea U’Ren makes her home in
Portland, OR.
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental, illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet, and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. Originally published as 365 Pingouins by Naïve Livres. Translated from French.
A family of four receives a special delivery on New Year’s
Day, one penguin from an undisclosed sender. As the year proceeds another
penguin is delivered every day. As the number of penguins increases so do the
family’s problems. How can they house hundreds of penguins? How can they afford
the fish to feed them? How can they keep them cool in the summer? 
This story combines a lesson on global warming with
numerous math problems. For example, Daddy figures out he can store 216 penguins
in a cube until penguin 217 is delivered. The story also becomes a game of “I
spy” when blue-footed Chilly penguin arrives.
The large format (37 x 29 centimeters), cartoon-style
illustrations in blue, orange, and black, and the large font size all work well
together for a read aloud. Teachers valued the book for its science and math
concepts, while children liked the humor and enjoyed predicting what will happen
as the family acquires more and more penguins. The book was a hit with children
ages three through nine.
Jean-Luc Fromental and Joëlle Jolivet are both from France.