cover image The Cat

The Cat

Giovanna Mantegazza, Cristina Mesturini. Boyds Mills Press, $6.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-1-56397-032-0

Although these companion books correlate in format and layout, their contexts span two incongruous worlds--from the small domesticities of pet cats washing, sleeping and playing to the wide-open African plains where hippos forage among exotic flora. The illustrations in both books show flexibility and refinement in color and style. Though the treatments differ, both are effective--Marchi's depiction of the changing blush of morning, noon and evening light on the African landscape, and Mesturini's bold colors of the cat's man-made environment. In The Hippopotamus , scenic illustrations are uniformly pastoral, while The Cat features small, unrelated portrayals of the activities and clutter of feline existence. The weighty texts, particularly in The Cat , will be beyond the ken of most board book fans and are not written to encourage beginning readers. However, the information on habits, community life, food requirements and reproduction may well spark discussion with children who can ``read'' only the pictures. Ages 2-6. (Mar . )