By Lucile de Pesloüan, illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn, translated by Helen Mixter
Reviewed by Tyrion Perkins
Lucile de Pesloüan is from Montreal in Canada and previously wrote the graphic novel What Makes Girls Sick and Tired. Jacques Goldstyn is a Canadian illustrator and political cartoonist.
Enter the world of ten-year-old Maxime who loves books and cats but doesn’t like adults always telling her what to do. She reads at every moment possible, even when she’s supposed to be doing other things; and during recess when “she’d like to play with the other kids but their yells make her ears hurt.” She has no idea what she would like to do when she grows up, or how to try to be friends with the new quiet girl. One day she notices bowls of kibble hidden along the nearby lane. And decides to investigate. She dresses in her blackest things and takes a tape recorder and camera that doesn’t work. When she finds the culprit, she confronts the old lady as to why she’s doing this forbidden activity of feeding cats in the lane. The woman snaps at her, but eventually lets Maxime come along as she feeds the community cats. Can this woman who prefers cats to people know anything of friendship?
For those wanting a straight-as-an-arrow, fast-paced story, this book is not for you. It rambles along like Maxime exploring the nooks and crannies of the laneway with the cats on a sunny weekend. But it’s quirky, it’s feel-good, funny, and is filled with felines. It also teaches about “community cats” and their plight and the people who look out for them.
It’s a cross between a picture book and graphic novel both in layout and size and illustrated in the style of Quentin Blake who illustrated Maxime’s favourite book, Matilda. One illustration refers to that book, and another references The Little Prince. There may be others I don’t recognise, perhaps other French books. Children will have fun discovering the details in the drawings, especially finding many of the 47 cats from the end papers where they are named and drawn to show their unique personalities.
Another stand out for me is an addition at the end, “If you find a cat…” by Zazie Todd, helping you determine if it’s a neighbour’s cat, a lost cat, or a community cat. The last section is less relevant to Australia where it’s illegal to feed feral cats, but good to know when visiting other countries where you might wonder why so many cats are missing the tip of their ear.
Great for children under ten, who like books and cats.
Lucile de Pesloüan is from Montreal in Canada and previously wrote the graphic novel What Makes Girls Sick and Tired. Jacques Goldstyn is a Canadian illustrator and political cartoonist.
