Big Cat, Little Cat

Like a Japanese brush painter, Cooper (8: An Animal Alphabet) uses bold, black lines to trace the outlines of a white cat; it roams through an apartment, playing with yarn and gazing at the bird feeder. Then a black kitten arrives, and the white cat shows it "when to eat, when to drink, where to go, how to be." "Big cat, little cat," Cooper writes as the two sleep embraced, their curves a rhythmic composition of black and white. The two grow ever closer until, with little warning, the white cat "got older, and one day he had to go... and didn't come back. And that was hard. For everyone." The black cat is pictured alone on the page; the next spread pulls back to reveal its human family, all bereft. Even younger readers will understand their grief. But when a white kitten arrives, the story begins again: "The cat showed the new cat what to do. When to eat, when to drink, where to go, how to be." With quiet grace, Cooper delivers the message that love persists through loss. Ages 3-6. Agent: Liz Darhansoff, Darhansoff & Verrill. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 1--Bold and simple illustrations perfectly depict life with cats. Elegant, expressive black line drawings on white backgrounds capture the essence of all things feline and call to mind the work of Clare Turlay Newberry and Nikki McClure. The book follows a lone white cat who gains a small black companion, their life together, and the eventual loss of the elder cat ("Years went by--and more years, too--") and ends with the addition of a new kitten. The spare text does an excellent job of conveying the story from the animals' point of view. Readers are told that "the older cat got older and one day he had to go...and didn't come back. And that was hard. For everyone."

A Caldecott Honor Book

5 starred reviews!

"With quiet grace, Cooper delivers the message that love persists through loss."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Cooper's gentle tale of the loss of a feline friend is perfect bibliotherapy for those who have lost a loved pet. "—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Kids won't have to be cat lovers to find this endearing and quietly reassuring, while young cat owners will want to tell the tale of their own feline friends."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"A gentle, loving look at the life cycle of pets; young readers will be able to gain confidence in retelling the story using the text and the pictures."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Cooper's thick black lines produce figures full of kinetic energy and personality. The circular nature of the story is beautifully reinforced by the repetition in both art and text, and the result is at once realistic and comforting."—The Horn Book, starred review

"In a final double-page spread the two dream happily, completing
the concept of the circle of life in loving contentment."—Booklist