Night Cat - Rilegato

School Library Journal
(September 1, 2003; 0-439-38576-8)

K-Gr 4-Night Cat follows Oliver through a shadowy garden filled with tempting things to chase and hunt. He enjoys devouring moths and eluding his owner, but there are creatures about that are far more menacing than he. Touching a porcupine hurts; an owl and an opossum are huge and terrifying; and when a hard rain begins to fall, Oliver begs to come back inside. Hitchcock's deep, dark artwork, created entirely on a computer using Photoshop 3.5 and Painter 5, nevertheless appears deceptively organic. Only the cat's glowing amber eyes and contrasting shafts of white and yellow light illuminate the eerie nocturnal images. Scenes of Oliver's nighttime playground coupled with his cat's-eye-view narration result in a hauntingly ambient picture book. Exquisite art design and painstaking attention to detail are evident. The story concludes with Oliver asleep by a fire that blazes just brightly enough to ward off the darkness consuming the book's last, jet-black page. On a par with such classics as Marcia Brown's Shadow (Scribner's, 1982; o.p.), this import from New Zealand promises to bewitch American picture-book readers.-Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Review August 1, 2003 starred
Night's dark alluring shadows and nocturnal sights and sounds are too intriguing for Oliver the cat, who chooses to stay out in lieu of retiring within the cozy, warm home he shares with Mrs. Bundy. Oliver's exploration of the moonlit garden uncovers fluttering moths, a snail tucked within her shell, a prickly porcupine ball, a quick-as-lightening mouse followed by a large screechy owl that really isn't as scary as facing a large "bright-eyed furry opossum." The weary Oliver returns to the doorstop as the first large raindrop falls and is happy to retreat indoors--not because he was really frightened, but rather to keep Mrs. Bundy company. Powerful computer-generated artwork of large black silhouettes for Oliver, Mrs. Bundy, and the other creatures set against a night-garden background of dark purplish shades, accented by large amber-colored eyeballs reflecting Oliver's astonished reactions work beautifully with the story, written in an easy-flowing free verse. A great read-aloud for both large groups and snug one-on-one.
Publishers Weekly
(May 19, 2003; 0-439-38576-8)

Oliver the cat usually comes inside when his owner calls him at nightfall, but tonight he's determined to prowl the garden rather than sit by the fire with Mrs. Bundy. And who can blame him? New Zealander Beames's opening lines spell out the allure of the garden, "full of light and shadows,/ .../ full of things that danced and fluttered,/ leaves and moths and trees./ It was exciting." Hitchcock's (Emily's Wonderful Pie) digital illustrations turn those lines of text into an understatement-and often overshadow the rest of the narrative. The nocturnal world she creates for the self-possessed feline to explore seems to exist at the intersection of the gothic and psychedelic. She drenches her spreads in black and deepest violet, adding flashes and splashes of white and turquoise for a kind of black-light poster effect. She frequently fractures time, showing orange-eyed Oliver on a spread at different stages within a single thread of action. And she renders everything larger-and scarier-than life: a huge owl, with raptorial eyes and razor-like talons and beak, swoops down on a screaming Oliver while in pursuit of a mouse; an opossum with bright orange eyes and a pink snout threatens to jump out of a tree and land in readers' laps. Oliver himself ultimately lands safely in front of Mrs. Bundy's fire ("I wasn't really scared but she'd be lonely without me"), but the book's frightening visuals may haunt young readers after the covers close. Ages 4-7. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Busin

Book by Beames Margaret