Puss in Boots: (Caldecott Honor Book) - Softcover

Perrault, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312659458 ISBN 13: 9780312659455

Publisher: Square Fish, 2011

Synopsis

Charles Perrault's Puss in Boots has been an irresistible magnet for countless illustrators ever since this classic French tale was first published in 1697. So the question arises: Do we really need another edition of Puss? Presented with Fred Marcellino's magnificent interpretation of this nimble new translation of the authentic text, book lovers young and old are apt to decide that this Puss in Boots belongs on their shelf of special favorites.

Long regarded as the preeminent designer of book jackets in America, Fred Marcellino provides an unstinting visual feast in his first full-color picture book. The adventures of that rascal, Puss, and his master, the miller's son, are portrayed in a lavish series of illustrations that range from sumptuous grandeur to comedy both boisterous and sly.
Puss in Boots is a 1991 Caldecott Honor Book.

About this title

Review:

Charles Perrault first published his collection of classic French folk tales 300 years ago, including "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," and this entertaining story about a most clever feline. In Puss and Boots, a poor miller dies and leaves his youngest son nothing but a cat. The son is none too happy about it, either; " ...once I've eaten my cat and made a muff out of the fur, I'm sure to starve," he says. But what a legacy the bequeathed cat turns out to be! The cat in tall boots creates a new identity for the youngest son--the Marquis of Carabas, complete with fine clothes, fields of wheat, a castle stolen from an ogre, and in the end, the respect of the king and the hand of the king's daughter. The story itself is gracefully and humorously told, and the text, set in large gray type, adds an old-fashioned air to the tale.

Fred Marcellino's illustrations for Puss in Boots--a Caldecott Honor Book--are infused with golden light and summer warmth in the sun-dappled woods and beside the fields of ripe grain. Many of his paintings show a masterful use of perspective; the reader sometimes looks down on a scene as though from a balcony, or from below, at a huge charging lion. Marcellino has also illustrated a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier and two books by Tor Seidler, A Rat's Tale and The Wainscott Weasel. Young listeners won't soon forget this crafty character of a cat, who has a great deal of charm despite his less-than-honest means of helping his master. (Ages 5 to 9)

About the Author:

CHARLES PERRAULT (1628–1703) is considered the original creator of the fairy tale, having written such classics as Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella.

FRED MARCELLINO (1939–2001) began his career in illustration with A Rat's Tale (available from Farrar Straus Giroux). Puss in Boots was his first full-color picture book and a Caldecott Honor winner. He continued to win awards and receive critical acclaim for his children's books until his death in 2001.

About this edition

• Publisher: Square Fish
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0312659458
• ISBN 13: 9780312659455
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Marcellino Fred