I am the first in this cat-loving family to read this book I waited a long time for from my library, but everyone will read it in this house, I am surI am the first in this cat-loving family to read this book I waited a long time for from my library, but everyone will read it in this house, I am sure of that. Nothing is entirely surprising about it, if you own a cat (or two, and in this house there have been many more at the same time, and always a cat). It's the story of the life and death of a kind of grumpy cat, Linney, in a two-child family. We have two cats in this house now, one of them grumpy (to me, at least) and we had another grumpy cat die last year. We fostered kittens for years, when the kids were little. Adorable.
I am sort of like the husband in the story, though, resentful of the (a----ole) cats for various reasons, in that they are not as warm and appreciative of my allowing them space in my world as I would like them to be. The neighbors have two warm and cuddly and sweet cats! Why not us?! Waah! (Woe!)
You can't dislike this book even if you never read a word in it, because Knisley's coloring is as usual spectacularly seductive. Apricot-hued, as Linney says, against sky-blue. And then all the other warm colors in the universe. And the page layouts are great. And there's some inevitable cat humor about this woeful, despairing cat (that they got from a shelter when he was four).
I was reminded of the life and death of another sad pet, recounted in The Diary of Edward the Hamster, 1990-1990, by Ezra and Miriam Elia. ...more
I am becoming a huge fan of Sophie Blackall's work. Maybe especially since reading her Farmhouse, which I loved. I like her art, her sensibility, her I am becoming a huge fan of Sophie Blackall's work. Maybe especially since reading her Farmhouse, which I loved. I like her art, her sensibility, her heart. This one I related to because we too have a negative cat in the house, Hermione, now 13 (in 2022); I have scars on my hands and wrists to prove that negativity. Turned suddenly and inexplicably violent sometimes. With sharp claws!
Negative Cat does not have quite the ring to it that Grumpy Cat does, but it's the same principle. I love that cover, the best image in the book, very funny. Based on a cat in the Blackall house. The boy who wanted a cat after 427 days of asking finally got one, as we always do, from the shelter. Nobody likes the cat, but the boy reads books to it, and then gets his classmates to read to cats. This last bit is based on something a Pennsylvania library did, to increase the fluency of young readers. . . and adorableness, obvs! And later in life, happy ending, Blackall says her cat got mellower.
Three cats here in the house right now, though we have fostered as many as five in addition to those three--my faves were five all black kittens, some of which would curl around my neck to sleep as I read on the couch.
My grumpiest cat ever is Hermione, who we had thought had been abused by someone early on, as we tried to understand why a cat with the softest fur we have ever felt was so crabby and bite-y. But recently I saw Hermione disoriented, walking in circles; I thought this was the end, a stroke or something. But we took her to the vet who said she had high blood pressure, had lost sight in one eye, and so we started her on bp meds. And, happy ending: She has gotten so mellow and purr-ey and loving it is almost unbelievable.
This is a somewhat amusing "memoir" from Penny, a cat Karl Stevens and his significant other rescued from the street. It takes a not-completely-originThis is a somewhat amusing "memoir" from Penny, a cat Karl Stevens and his significant other rescued from the street. It takes a not-completely-original view that this cat is very wise and insightful and philosophical, and Karl and his partner are comparatively shallow, attributing no insight to Penny at all.
Reminded me of the story of Edward the Hamster by Elias, which I thought was way funnier, and also reminded me of the horror manga-ka's Junji Ito's Cat Diary, where he (tongue-in-cheek) credits his cute cats with inspiring his most creepy manga tales.
Now, Karl Stevens is a painter so if the tale itself was just okay, the painterly cartooning of Stevens is amazing, wonderful. One of the best artists in comics/illustration....more
Fun Silver Sprocket collected comics colume, 146 pages, of recent art school grad Olive and her cat, Henry, who is basically her best friend. So she mFun Silver Sprocket collected comics colume, 146 pages, of recent art school grad Olive and her cat, Henry, who is basically her best friend. So she makes a wish that Henry can be her for real roommate and it works out. So he can talk and is now upright, wearing clothes, but he's still more cat than human. For instance, they go to a pet store and can't get dogs cats, mice... so they buy a snail. Olive buys Henry a present and Henry loves... the box the present came in. They go to a cat party and the snacks are rats.
But when Olive takes Henry to her art class his first drawing is amazing, which irks artist Olive. Henry, who is hired as a dog sitter (yes, it gets complicated), makes more money than Olive.
If you 're not a cat lover at all, this is a two-star book, I think. The art is very inviting, though. It's about a girl that gets a cat in a box leftIf you 're not a cat lover at all, this is a two-star book, I think. The art is very inviting, though. It's about a girl that gets a cat in a box left by her mother at her apartment door (though she doesn't see the box for days, and there was no food or water in the box)! If you can read on in the book after this initial abuse, as I did, well, the story is of a single non-cat-lover becoming a cat lover, with some adorableness and humor. There's not much story here, but the quality of intimacy and sweetness in the drawings bumps it up to three stars for me. I liked it....more
A pretty funny book about seeing the world through a cat's perspective as the human world would seem to be constantly blowing up. This reminds me of aA pretty funny book about seeing the world through a cat's perspective as the human world would seem to be constantly blowing up. This reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon about the cats of war, where we see three cats are curled up sleeping as a war ensues. In this one the "breaking news" (seen through the angle of three cats as tv reporters) is not climate change or the latest tweet announcing some outrage or horror but whatever is going on in the cat bowl, or out the window where we see birds and neighborhood cats....more
Another one of the Louvre-sponsored graphic novels about the Louvre, one of the most ambitious of all of them, a tw0-volume manga by Taiyo Matsumoto (Another one of the Louvre-sponsored graphic novels about the Louvre, one of the most ambitious of all of them, a tw0-volume manga by Taiyo Matsumoto (Sunny) filled with mystery and fantasy and pathos and strangeness and an appreciation for the attractions of art for anyone. As with some others from the series, this one depends on what happens at the Louvre after hours, during the night, behind the scenes; with that Toy Story assumption--when a toy falls in the playroom and there is no adult around to hear it, that means magic happens.
In the attic of the Louvre there are variety of cats, some of them talking, some with human features, and one of them, little white Snowbébé, is drawn to the artwork, so he increasingly ventures downstairs. He has a kind of close affinity to the art, having a kind of sixth sense where he hears some of the artwork luring viewers into them. Another key character is Marcel, the older night watchman who also cares for the cats, who believes that when he was a little boy fifty years ago his sister wandered off in the Louvre and actually entered into one of her favorite paintings (which is the kind of thing that happens in more than one of the Louvre series books). He enlists docent Cecile and Snowbébé to find the painting and his long-lost sister.
So it’s not the cute-cats-in-all-the-paintings kinda story you might have expected from the title but a paranormal and/or surreal story of philosophical spiders and weird cats and great paintings and a lost little girl and a missing painting. And a skinny cat named Twiggy (also the name of a skinny sixties model) who helps Snowbébé. And a painting restorer who also figures in importantly in the story. Haunting and touching, with a bit of nostalgia and adventure reminiscent for me of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. With cats. I like it a lot. Doesn’t it sound strange and inventive? It is....more
Just mainly to catalogue that I read this, to see what some of the younger people in the house were getting into. Ours is a cat house, also, not a dogJust mainly to catalogue that I read this, to see what some of the younger people in the house were getting into. Ours is a cat house, also, not a dog house, just to say. These young'uns were reading lighter, goofier-looking Hero Cats volumes. This one is darker, moodier-looking, which made it somewhat more interesting. Midnight is sort of like a night-shift protector, a bit of moody Batman, a little bit noir cop, reminding me somewhat of Juan Diaz Canales' also anthropomorphic cat detective Blacksad series, which is for an older audience (and better, I think, but you go, Kyle and Alex!)....more
A Stray in the Woods emerged as a collaborative art project on Tumblr in 2012 and 2013, where the artist drew pictures of a cat and asked for suggestiA Stray in the Woods emerged as a collaborative art project on Tumblr in 2012 and 2013, where the artist drew pictures of a cat and asked for suggestions about what the cat should do next. She selected one suggestion from a reader each day from the increasingly many ideas she received, and the story began to grow. The main attraction to this project for me is sort of a pedagogical one, since I'm a teacher and have taught collaborative writing and engage students in group projects. I like how she worked with her readers. Not exactly "choose your own adventure," but still, open to reader suggestions, fun. The drawings are dark, and atmospheric, but the story for me is mainly about invention. Good to take a look at it, which you can do here:
This is a house in a neighborhood of cats. The other day there were eight cats in our back yard. A dog in the house to the right, and then a dog (St BThis is a house in a neighborhood of cats. The other day there were eight cats in our back yard. A dog in the house to the right, and then a dog (St Bernard!) in the next house to the right, but lots of cats, all around, and three in this house alone. So we have these cat books in the house all the time, cats and zen, sometimes just collections of cat photographs. This one is worth a few smiles, with short biographies of the artists including what, if anything, they knew about the artists’ relationship with cats (and other animals). Cuteness overload? Maybe. But this book is a hit in this house.
My faves include that crazy Dali cover; we know Frida Kahlo loved cats, as did Edward Gorey, those photographs made me smile, but the best photographs include ones with Maya Lin, Georgia O’Keefe, Gustav Klimt. That black cat draped over Herbert Tobias’s head. ...more
A first graphic novel based on a webcomic by Caitlin Major and illustrated by Kelly Bastow, for cat lovers, where a role reversal universe has cats ruA first graphic novel based on a webcomic by Caitlin Major and illustrated by Kelly Bastow, for cat lovers, where a role reversal universe has cats rule and humans--exclusively male humans, for no clear reason to me--are ruled by cats. Men--naked men, some black, some white--act like cats. Our main guy, Manfried (remember the Brit Rock group from the sixties, Manfred Mann? Did covers of "Blinded by the Light," and "Spirit in the Night"? Me, neither) is ignored by an irresponsible owner whose life is falling apart, though his love for Manfried just might save him, especially when Manfried is lost!
The publisher description says the book is "hilarious," though I found it occasionally amusing, occasionally insightful about cat ownership/love but most often often kinda wincingly painful about this annoying loser cat owner. Okay, until the end. 2.5, rounded up for first novel encouragement, and the cute colorful drawings that made this easier to read. ...more
Bukowksi has a reputation for writing, often amusingly, about his experiences with booze and women. But if you know his writing, you also know he loveBukowksi has a reputation for writing, often amusingly, about his experiences with booze and women. But if you know his writing, you also know he loves and writes about cats. This collection is obviously made for cat lovers, some poems, some sections of his Chinaski novels.
The opening piece about Bukowski/Chinaski trying to impress a visitor about all the tricks his cat can do made me laugh aloud, since you already know the cat will not perform on command. “Shake my hand! Shake my HAND! Roll over!” Apparently shouting will make the cat more responsive? (I have cats and know the answer).
Buk’s kind of sentimental when it comes to cats: “. . . warm light alone tonight in this house, alone with 6 cats who tell me without effort all that there is to know.”
“TV can make me ill in five minutes, but I can look at an animal for hours and find nothing but grace and glory, life as it should be.”
“In my next life I want to be a cat. To sleep 20 hours a day and wait to be fed. To sit around licking my ass. Humans are too miserable and angry and single-minded.”
I listened to it on audiotape while sometimes watching my cats. ...more
"When I pet her she purrs as if she has a drum near her heart."
I know Joy Harjo, a member of the Muskogee-Creek tribe, as a poet. But she is also an a"When I pet her she purrs as if she has a drum near her heart."
I know Joy Harjo, a member of the Muskogee-Creek tribe, as a poet. But she is also an award-winning musician, and the author of this modern Native American picture book story focused on a young girl's cat's nine lives.The art is good, but the various anecdotes are even better, of the cats surviving an encounter with a large dog, a tumble in the clothes dryer, a fall from a tree.
A book for lovers of cats. Cat lovers unite!...more
As a cat person, I am pretty into this tween graphic novel series, volume one, but the other cat people in this house (all of them smaller than me) seAs a cat person, I am pretty into this tween graphic novel series, volume one, but the other cat people in this house (all of them smaller than me) seem to love it even SO MUCH more. H, 12, came to tell me I gotta read it, ASAP! Done!
Problem: This (parallel) world is actually filled with cats, not humans. The world has a problem, though: In 60 days the world power-supply is gone.
Solution? Meet the CatStronauts! Pilot Waffles (My fave, never far from food); Chief Science Officer PomPom: Chief Technical Specialist Blanket (with cat robot), and Major Meowser, their leader.
Random stuff I like:
*There’s a cameo of Neil Armstrong (or, er, Catstrong)
*Lots of cat puns.
*There’s a cat cartoon on my refrigerator that shows the Cats of War: They’re all curled up, sleeping. In this book the cats also sometimes act like that, like cats, and not just anthropomorphic cats; for instance, when there is a power outage, they initially just take a catnap.
Cats and space, what’s not to like? It’s just all about the cuteness, not much else required.
I might have said 3.5, but the house rules: 4 stars, minimum. ...more
I took a look at this because 1) we in this house are cat people; 2) everyone else in the house read it, and 3) my ten year old girl in particular gusI took a look at this because 1) we in this house are cat people; 2) everyone else in the house read it, and 3) my ten year old girl in particular gushed over it: "so cuuuuute." And she's right. It's about an old lady and her cat, very simple, and often kinda funny IF you are a cat person. Konami is also the manga-ka of Chi's Sweet Home, also a hit with (especially) the girl in this house, which I have also read into. I kinda like this better because the cat doesn't get to "speak," so there's less verbal language, relying more on visuals.
If you want to see what I mean, look at Karen's review, which shows a lot of Konami's cats:
Well. This is an amusing book. I liked it quite a bit and smiled quite a bit throughout. Oh, I don't know why! With the Paris and Kenya bombings shakiWell. This is an amusing book. I liked it quite a bit and smiled quite a bit throughout. Oh, I don't know why! With the Paris and Kenya bombings shaking the world up, maybe you just need a book like this to escape with? (You don't?)
But let me get this out of the way first: I mean, why would humans put tiny hats on cats and assume that said cats would feel more special wearing them?! It has an tinge of circus manipulation of animals to serve human needs about it. And reminds me of my kids who play inappropriately with cats, wrestling them, throwing balls to try and force them to fetch, dressing them up like dolls, and so on.
Is it really so different than the immensely popular Anne Geddes's photographs of babies as vegetables, or those dogs photographed in human clothes and postures that everyone adored just a few years ago, by William something? It's bizarre, no doubt, and I know you think am taking it all a bit too seriously.
But what of our internet obsession with Grumpy Cat, endless funny cat videos and sappy pics of them on Facebook. . .
Okay, I got that off my chest and want to let you know that I realize this book is being a bit ironic and silly. A bit. Because generally Ellis plays it straight with dozens of pages of photographs of his two cats wearing immaculately designed tiny hats, adding sections on how to make your own identical versions of the hats, and so on. It's insane!! And therein lies its smart humor, I think. It's just funny that he puts together this elaborate, glamorous book about cats in hats. And you know what, if you have a cat, you will adore this book. You just will.
Oh! Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat! Oh, never mind. . . I don't know what the connection is there, necessarily. . . but it just came into my head. . . maybe as randomly as this project came into his head.
Anyway, the whole family is bent over it as I write, just loving this strangely adorable book for slightly different reasons than I like it, maybe.
I fear now for Hermione, our two year old cat, and what indignities she will have to suffer in the near future. . .
I have three cats in this house and one that is angling to get in. I love cats and am a cat person. And I skimmed some of the five star reviews to seeI have three cats in this house and one that is angling to get in. I love cats and am a cat person. And I skimmed some of the five star reviews to see what I was missing about how great this stuff is. And I feel like an old grumpy guy writing this, and I'm NOT grumpy, really I'm not, but yikes, maybe it is all the endless flow of funniest cat videos my kids are watching on You Tube or the endless stream of cat pictures I am seeing daily on Facebook, but this was not really adorable to me. I hope you all love it, enjoy! If you want adorable AND insightful, go to any of Jeffery Brown's cat comics or the My Cat is Plotting to Kill Me. I mean, not every cat book is great, yikes....more