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Legendary storyteller Phillip Pullman and award-winning illustrator Ian Beck join forces to retell a classic story. An old miller dies and leaves the mill to his eldest son, the donkey to his middle child, and a cat to the youngest boy. A cat, you say? A cat, indeed. Frustrated that he will have no means to survive without a mill or donkey, Jacques decides to leave town and seek his fortune. But he soon learns that his cat has a unique talent -- he can talk! This smart and witty feline encourages Jacques to put him in charge. Puss promises food and fortune if only he can follow his ingenious plan. Jacques allows him to do so, and the story forges ahead at a heightened pace. Disguising Jacques as the marquis of Carabas so he can meet the king of France's daughter, Puss enables the two to fall in love. Meanwhile, a hungry Ogre, who happened to be the brother's landlord, is feeling a bit queasy. An astrologer claims he needs a wife, and so the hunt begins. And, as fate would have it, the princess is just his type. After a slew of sly and quite humorous moves on Puss's part, Jacques is eventually wed to the princess, and they live "happily ever after".
This fast-paced story is enhanced by busy illustrations from Beck. His attention to detail will pay off for readers interested in raucous good time. Pullman uses a bit of storytelling liberty to embellish the Ogre's role in this tale, which leads to laughs and fun.
Kirkus Reviews
With characters supplying punch lines and side commentary in Beck's vigorously inked cartoon illustrations, Pullman briskly reworks Perrault's tale of an orphaned miller's son who, thanks to a quick-witted feline companion, sets a new standard for rapid upward mobility. Though several incidents drawn from other folktales have been interpolated, the cat still does most of the work, pulling strings behind the scenes to help young Jacques, posing as the Marquis of Carabas, to meet the King of France's daughter, then to pass a pair (or a trio, according to the picture) of insomniac ghouls (" ‘If we can't sleep . . . we'll take all your bones out through your nose and play pick-up-sticks with 'em . . . ' ") in order to rescue her from a wonderfully snaggle-toothed, coarse-featured ogre. The author sets his renowned gift for breathlessly paced storytelling at full throttle, and the result, at once briefer and broader than Fred Marcellino's urbane version (1990), will leave younger audiences enthralled. (Picture book/folktale. 7-9)
From the Publisher
"Pullman sets a pleasingly flip tone from the start as he retells the tale with gusto. . . . Beck's crosshatch pen-and-watercolor illustrations, primarily framed as panel vignettes with speech and thought bubbles, keep things percolating visually. He gussies up Puss in an outfit that would do D'Artagnan proud and adds numerous droll touches, including a quartet of hilarious portraits of the Ogre's prospective brides. A fun frolic." —Publishers Weekly
"Pullman embroiders the original Perrault tale by giving the ogre more personality and prestige than in the original, by including two mysteries that Puss and his master must solve and rescuing the princess from the Ogre's lair (for a tidy three tasks). . . . The text is funny and hip enough to attract older readers who might have missed the story the first time, and it will entertain younger listeners as well." —School Library Journal
"In this retelling, Pullman expands Charles Perrault's classic tale by adding spooky new characters and plot twists, as well as a more honest ending. . . Pullman's text, peppered with occasional Briticisms, deftly weaves new elements into the story with humor and action that is echoed in Beck's watercolor-and-ink crosshatched illustrations." —Booklist
