Product Description
A retelling of the French fairy tale in which a clever cat wins his master a fortune and the hand of a princess.Amazon.com Review
CharlesPerrault first published his collection of classic French folktales 300 years ago, including "Cinderella," "SleepingBeauty," and this entertaining story about a most cleverfeline. In Puss and Boots, a poor miller dies and leaves hisyoungest 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 thefur, I'm sure to starve," he says. But what a legacy thebequeathed cat turns out to be! The cat in tall boots creates a newidentity for the youngest son--the Marquis of Carabas, complete withfine clothes, fields of wheat, a castle stolen from an ogre, and inthe end, the respect of the king and the hand of the king'sdaughter. The story itself is gracefully and humorously told, and thetext, set in large gray type, adds an old-fashioned air to thetale.

FredMarcellino's illustrations for Puss in Boots--a CaldecottHonor Book--are infused with golden light and summer warmth in thesun-dappled woods and beside the fields of ripe grain. Many of hispaintings show a masterful use of perspective; the reader sometimeslooks down on a scene as though from a balcony, or from below, at ahuge charging lion. Marcellino has also illustrated a version of HansChristian Andersen's The Steadfast TinSoldier and two books by Tor Seidler, A Rat's Tale andThe WainscottWeasel. Young listeners won't soon forget this craftycharacter of a cat, who has a great deal of charm despite hisless-than-honest means of helping his master. (Ages 5 to 9) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

A Cheerful Rendition of the Classic Fairy Tale
Paul Galdone's rendition of the classic fairy tale Puss in Boots sticks closely to Perrault's original, with innocently cheerful artistic representation of the story's action-filled scenes.The story is well told, with enough repetition to hold the attention of younger listeners while providing enough detail to interest older readers.While Galdone's artistic interpretation is not as impressive as some editions of Puss in Boots, this book provides a good choice for introducing the story to readers who aren't quite ready for the more difficult original story.

Fred Marcellino's artistic interpretation of Puss in Boots, narrated by a spare translation of Perrault's original story, is nothing short of impressive.The book is a visual feast, its fantastical events unfolding with their own strange coherency.The mood of this book is a bit darker than Galdone's, with the puckish Puss killing rabbits for the king "without mercy or compassion" and the giant's ogreish meals peeking out from under silver trays as servants glide past Puss on his way up the lushly carpeted stair.Parents of sensitive readers may wish to stick with Galdone's version, but this version accurately captures the mood of Perrault's original story.

Puss's outrageous success in advancing his master's interests through deception may well be troubling for parents, who will wish to interpret the story to their young children while still encouraging them to tell the truth.Puss's panache is undeniably attractive, and (unlike Toad in The Wind in the Willows), he never receives the just consequences of his unscrupulous behavior.While some parents will choose to avoid the story, it should be noted that Puss's victims were all taken in by means of their own moral weakness: the king was overly fond of good food, which made him vulnerable to Puss's blandishments.The princess was so shallow as to be impressed by the miller's son's clothing (provided in her presence by her weak-willed father).The ogre was too arrogant to view Puss as a threat, and foolishly turned himself into a mouse, opening himself up for attack.All of these people naively accepted the line presented to them, and so were taken in.

Puss is a scoundrel, and children ought to know that there are scoundrels in the world who will prey upon the morally weak.The only danger is that the audience will actually be taken in by Puss's charm and admire him for his own sake.

One Smart Kitty
My daughter liked this book. I imagine any child who likes cats would. However, the animal factor isn't the only thing that makes this book pleasing to children; the book is well written and told with such energy that it makes this classic tale all the more enthralling and grabbing to young readers. Of course, the well drawn illustrations help too.

The story is about a savy cat that is determined to bring good fortunes to his poor master. Along the way the cat must deal with a giant Ogre, as well as out wit a king on several occasions. The Ogre has the ability to morph into different creatures, which adds an additional fairy tale element to this adventure of a witty talking cat. The poor master originally thought he was out of luck when he got the cat, but that conclusion never held merit as the master became richly rewarded in the end all due to his loyal feline friend.

I hope you give the book a try, I think your young ones will like it.

Darien Summers, author of The Mischievous Hare, a children's book.

A Beautiful Book
I ordered this for my 4-year-old grandson who has an imaginary kitty friend.I was pleasantly surprised by how beautifully illustrated the book was, and how engaging the text.

Cat lover... How could I not!?!
I remember hearing this story as young as six. My grandmother's cat disagrees with the story in that cats do not like to wear clothes. I however now have my very own copy of the story on the bookshelf. It's beautifully told and I read it ever so often. The illustrations are wonderful. It's definitely a good choice for younger children at reading time and/or bedtime. It's short, the pictures help explain a lot of what's going on, and the book is large. That last part may sound strange, but have you ever tried 'Reading Circle' with a small book... With 20 children on the floor all wanting to see the pictures and my need to keep their attention... The book is definitely a keeper. Even if not for them, for my own childhood memories of the story.

Should have won the gold!
Facial expressions are everything in Fred Marcellino's illustrations of Puss in Boots, the famous folk tale by Charles Perrault. This book won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1991.

As a children's librarian, I always ask my audience where the story begins. Their assumption is on page one until I show them that sometimes the story begins on the cover. Children's illustrators are nothing if not creative. Look at the dust jacket--there he is, Puss looking regal in royal clothes. Now turn to the title page: Puss is seeking food on a ship in the form of unsuspecting mice. Where is this story going with two discrepant images? Page two of the double spread--Puss is going to be eaten. Look at that feline face? Eaten? Say whaaaa?

Now Puss gets boots and begins to show his new master his guiles, all the while gifting the king with the largesse of his own lands, which Puss passes off as gifts from the Marquis of Carabas, a name Puss invents for his poor master. This elaborate ruse is continued until Puss manages a marriage between the king's daughter and his Marquis, all without a hitch. Well, of course, this is a fairy tale, if you consider Puss as a kind of fairy. That is the simple straight-away of the story.

Now consider the artwork, the finest version of any I have ever seen for Puss. The poor peasant/Marquis is handsome, Puss is handsome, the princess is beautiful, the castle is gorgeous, clothing is awesome, the ogre is ugly. Look again. The artwork is reminiscent of paintings from the Renaissance when perspective was "invented" and all artwork was perfect and detailed. Is Marcellino saying that Puss was placed in a perfect setting to display his perfect skills of ledgerdemaine, so to speak?

Notice also the location of "viewer," another aspect of perspective. The viewer is always part of the action, looking up or down or around or through or under, sometimes in a humorous view or scary or bold, but always right there, almost as part of the action.

If those qualities of his artwork aren't enough, what really stands out are the facial expressions Marcellino gives his characters, especially Puss. Two standouts are the picture of Puss shouting orders to the hay cutters and his totally relaxed pose at the end when his master has married the princess and confirmed a rosy future for the two of them. Puss has de-booted, or disarmed, himself for a fully deserved rest.

Marcellino should have won the gold for this book! (David Macauley won for Black and White. OK, tough call. As much as I love Puss in Boots, I have to go with Black and White. However, my sentence stands because it makes a catchy ending.) ... Read more