The Cat Who Walked Across France

by Banks, Kate; Hallensleben, Georg

• ISBN13: 9780374399689
• ISBN10: 0374399689
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-02
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Summary

In lyrical prose and breathtaking images, Banks and Hallensleben take the reader on a journey across the Norman countryside, past ancient ruins, through bustling cities, to the sparkling ports of the Mediterranean Sea and a place an "orphaned" cat can call home.

Author Biography

Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben are the author and artist of several picture books for children, including And If the Moon Could Talk, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; The Night Worker, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award; and Baboon. Ms. Banks lives in the South of France, and Mr. Hallensleben lives in Paris, France.

Table of Contents

"Hallensleben composes space like Matisse and loads his brush with paint like Van Gogh...Francophiles and cat fanatics will melt at the immensely satisfying conclusion." -- Starred, Publishers Weekly

"Banks and Hallensleben make beautiful books together." --American Bookseller

"Exquisite." -- Boxed, Booklist

"With the rich palette and thick brushwork of Rouault or Gaugin, Hallensleben magically captures the light of France and the forthright courage of a small gray cat...Beautifully realized." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Hallensleben's drawings, using richly saturated colors, reflect a deeply loving view of France, both countryside and towns, and include landmarks that Francophiles can easily pick out." -- The Horn Book

"Rich in theme and evocative in tone, the cat's quest will resonate with young readers." -- School Library Journal

"This lonely and determined cat, who puts one in mind of Kipling's solitary cat walking down its allée of trees, is a heroine grown-ups are likely to find especially pleasing...Georg Hallensleben's paintings of her trip have at once a poster-paint Fauve simplicity and a Vuillard-melancholy...plaintive and memorable." -- The New York Times Book Review