A clever cat wins for his master a fortune and the hand of a princess.
Amazon.com 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)
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(21 customer reviews)
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
A Pleasing Puss for All Ages, April 2, 2000
Laurel R Shimer (Menlo Park, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puss in Boots (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)
I regularly visit school classrooms and read aloud to children from Kindergarten through eighth grade. Finding books that appeal to more than one grade level is a challenge.I have found that the pictures in this version of 'Puss' appeal immensely to kindergartners through third graders. (Fourth and Fifth grade children also like it, but are often embarassed to say so in a classroom setting!). Children who often have a hard time sitting still for a story have sat transfixed as I read this book, holding the pictures in front of them all the time and giving them lots of opportunities to check out the wonderful use of light and color. The illustrator uses a lot of wonderful yellow that is very appealing to young children and seems to draw them into the book. I love reading this book out loud both to see children's reaction and also because I love the detail and color in the pictures.Reading this book aloud has also sparked some beautiful art work from young children.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Zee puss in zee boots, August 15, 2005
E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puss in Boots (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the stock of "Puss In Boots" went up when "Shrek 2" came out in theaters. Suddenly that little cat with the fancy footwear was garnering a lot more interest than he ever had before. I've always wondered why this fairy tale was ignored by the Disney animation studios in their heyday. Now if you're looking for the quintessential version of the tale, there are really only two illustrators to pick between. You can either choose the multi-talented Fred Marcellino version (responsible for some of my favorite picture books like, "I, Crocodile" and "The Story of Little Babaji") or you can go the Paul Galdone route. I personally have always found Galdone to be a bit of a bore, except in the cat department. For some reason, Galdone was always particularly good at drawing amusing felines. I'm not entirely certain why Amazon.com has decided to link these two titles with one set of reviews, but just to clear everything up I'd like to state that for all its...Read more
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Beautiful, rich book, May 31, 2004
Dee Abel "dee_ann_" (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puss in Boots (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)
The artwork and the large font are beautiful. And I like the translation. It's rich enough to introduce some new vocabulary, without being so thick it can't be understood.
(21 customer reviews) 
A Pleasing Puss for All Ages, April 2, 2000 
