Jillian Tamaki, illustrator of the Caldecott Honor- and Printz Honor-winning graphic novel This One Summer, presents readers with Young Cat, Old Cat, an engaging, visually beguiling picture book inspired by "an opinionated little gray cat named Gretel, who lived to be almost twenty-two years old."
On the opening page, a tiny gray and white "baby cat" mews. On the opposite page, the same kitten is one "hopeful cat" among many others as it reaches up for human attention. The kitty's chosen child drops down, eye to eye, to ask, "Be my cat?" And so their bonded lives begin as the "scaredy-cat" travels into the unknown, where it leaps out and lands in a new home as a "finally free cat!" The feline adventures abound as the kitten chases, climbs, pulls, yells, pounces, and grows--far too quickly. Time inevitably passes, and aging (while loafing, snoozing, and eventually wobbling) is unavoidable. Seemingly suddenly, the once-energetic furry becomes an "oh-so-tired cat" who needs lifting and carrying to visit the trees, blooms, and teasing squirrel outside. Eventually, a faraway wave of "goodbye, cat" sends the kitty high into the heavens. "Can you hear me, cat?" the child asks of a gray/blue night with sparkling stars forming a cat. The next illustration shows the celestial creature shrinking until a final double-page spread features a tiny gray and white "brand-new cat" saying hello with a tiny "mew."
Tamaki's spare narrative will likely cause sympathetic tears, particularly for cat-loving families with four-legged members. Of course, Tamaki's fanciful, magical ending may also be interpreted as a comforting rebirth to assuage devastating loss. Most striking is Tamaki's art, which gorgeously reveals even more of the plot than her unadorned, straightforward narrative. An author's note details her work in multilayered mixed mediums, which results in amplified complexity, transforming flat pages with notable depth and dimension. Kitty depictions are particularly dynamic, with needlepoint enhancements that highlight constant movement and development; the "growing cat" page almost feels animated as the kitten progresses to cathood in a single scene. When the "oh-so-tired cat" ventures outside, secure in human arms, surreal cat-head flowers present in a progressive downward wilt, hauntingly foreshadowing what's to come. The ethereal cat streaks across the firmament, virtually sparkling with embroidered stars. Young Cat, Old Cat proves to be a gift to readers and a lingering, celebratory homage to everlasting cat love, memorialized through inventive, exceptional illustrations. --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Jillian Tamaki combines fabrics, acrylic inks, and embroidery to create a multilayered homage to the long life of a little gray cat in her poignant picture book Young Cat, Old Cat.