Cat Nap

by Brian Lies, Brian Lies (Illustrator)

Overview

With lush paintings and intricately constructed 3-D artwork, bestselling and Caldecott Honor–winning author-illustrator Brian Lies introduces a sleepy kitten whose afternoon nap transforms into an epic journey through art, time, and history. Perfect for fans of They All Saw a Cat, Museum Trip, and Jumanji. Includes back matter.

In the warm, late afternoon sunlight, a girl sits on the couch reading a book. Her kitten dozes nearby. But when Kitten notices a mouse and dives after it through a framed poster on the wall, an epic chase through time, art, and history ensues. Is it a dream? That’s up to the reader to decide, but for the kitten, every leap and bound is full of suspense and makes for a masterpiece.

Caldecott Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies creates a truly unique picture book journey that invites young readers through the galleries of an art museum as well as through time, space, and history. As the cat and mouse leap from one page to the next, they are portrayed in the style of masterful artworks from history—an ancient Egyptian relief, an illuminated manuscript, a stained-glass window, a ceramic dog—each painstakingly and lovingly re-created in its original media by Brian Lies. When the sly mouse gets away, Kitten finds himself lost and alone. Will art help him find his way home?

This visual showstopper by an award-winning and bestselling picture book creator offers readers a page-turning cat and mouse chase, an introduction to famous works of art throughout history, an epic adventure story, and a homecoming. Back matter includes information about how each of the illustrations in the book was created, notes on the original artworks featured in the book, and an afterword inviting young readers to make, create, and build things.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062671288
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brian Lies is the New York Times bestselling creator of Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, Bats at the Ballgame, Bats in the Band, and the Caldecott Honor book The Rough Patch. He has written and/or illustrated dozens of other acclaimed books for children. He lives with his family in a small seaside town in Massachusetts, where he tends a big and thriving garden. 

Brian Lies is the New York Times bestselling creator of Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, Bats at the Ballgame, Bats in the Band, and the Caldecott Honor book The Rough Patch. He has written and/or illustrated dozens of other acclaimed books for children. He lives with his family in a small seaside town in Massachusetts, where he tends a big and thriving garden. 

Editorial Reviews

A felicitous feline with mice on the brain leaps into adventure—and art. . . . On each spread, both Kitten and his prey are visually transformed, matching the style of the work in question—and wreaking a bit of chaos along the way. . . . Amid. . .meticulously rendered art, the kid-friendly storytelling, anchored by a spirited refrain (“Does Kitten follow? Of course he does”), remains at the heart of the narrative. Utterly beautiful, playfully fun, and, above all, breathtaking.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Caldecott Honoree Lies turns a cat-and-mouse tale into a handcrafted visual tour through art history in this immersive picture book. . . . The kitten morphs to take on the characteristics of each, becoming a delicately rendered ink wash in the manner of Hokusai, mimicking the stylings of Remojadas pottery, and reflecting the glossy black surface of a Mblo portrait mask. . . . Both a labor of love and a flight of imagination, it’s a journey that should leave an indelible paw-print on readers. Back matter details the artistic process and highlighted works.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A cat who chases a mouse, gets lost, and finds its way home again. Perhaps a simple story, but it’s how this story is told that makes it such a breathtaking feat. . . . This jaw-droppingly good picture book is a delight in and of itself, as well as a potent reminder that the process of making art is just as valuable as the end result.” — Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-03
A felicitous feline with mice on the brain leaps into adventure—and art.

In the late afternoon, a kitten’s attention is seized by a wayward mouse. When the rodent jumps into a framed poster for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kitten is close behind. What ensues is a chase across the museum—and into a variety of pieces spanning time and geography, all of which hail from the Met and are labeled and further explained in the backmatter. On each spread, both Kitten and his prey are visually transformed, matching the style of the work in question—and wreaking a bit of chaos along the way. At last, it’s the lure of home and dinner that brings Kitten’s wanderings to an end. As Caldecott Honor winner Lies notes at the book’s conclusion, he painstakingly brought to life each sculpture, painting, and illuminated manuscript, as seen in his jaw-dropping array of styles. He glued layers of wood to fashion a Mblo mask, fitted stained glass for a sequence where Kitten and his quarry dart through Friedrich Brunner’sGathering Manna, and, using dental tools and a chisel, carved plaster to re-create an Egyptian relief. Amid this meticulously rendered art, the kid-friendly storytelling, anchored by a spirited refrain (“Does Kitten follow? Of course he does”), remains at the heart of the narrative.

Utterly beautiful, playfully fun, and, above all, breathtaking.(Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews