But Who Will Bell the Cats?

by Cynthia Von Buhler, Cynthia Von Buhler (Illustrator), Aesop (Based On Work by)

Overview

Finally, the solution to Aesop’s age-old question:
Who will bell the cats?

Mouse and his friend, Brown Bat, are determined to get out
of the basement and into the banquet hall to join
the fun and frolicking there.
But escape won’t be easy with the cats blocking
their efforts . . .

It will take many attempts and a surprising
solution for Mouse and Bat to succeed.

Cynthia von Buhler’s enchanted upstairs/downstairs
world shows readers the rewards of determination, bravery,
and creativity—and reminds them of the uncomplicated
power of kindness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618997183
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	09/07/2009
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Cynthia von Buhler is an internationally known and award-winning artist. Her artwork has been displayed in galleries and museums around the world, on CD covers, and in books, magazines, and newspapers. Cynthia lives in a castle on Staten Island in New York.

Editorial Reviews

"It’s an upstairs-downstairs scenario carried through in every way, the spreads frequently split in two horizontally to show the contrast. The typeface is appropriate to the location, heavy and bright in the Princess’s rooms, while thin and pale in the mouse’s quarters. The action is richly illustrated in profusely detailed multimedia collage, framed in ornate gilt, which again emphasizes the differences in the lifestyles of the characters. The upstairs scenes glow in lavish, bright gold tones, and the downstairs scenes are dark and gloomy. Young readers will pore over this one again and again."—Kirkus Reviews

"Dark, complicated mixed-media illustrations bring a humorously creepy feel to the tale. A fancy typeface for the upstairs story contrasts nicely with the pseudo-handwritten type accompanying Mouse’s story . . . this story of an indefatigable mouse should find a welcome place on the shelves of any castle...or library."—Horn Book

"Children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings. "—School Library Journal

"It’s only through true dedication on the part of the artist that you get something as visually inspiring as But Who Will Bell the Cats? Beautiful and haunting with the kinds of images kids will pore over, there ain’t nothing like it out there today. A new fable in an all-new style."—Fuse 8 Blog

"Destined to earn the "classic" label down the road…"—UrbanBaby.com

From the Publisher

Aesop's fable asking, "Who will bell the cat?" sets the stage for this tale of a princess and eight cats in a castle and a mouse and his bat friend in the cellar. Tired of living in squalor on crumbs, Mouse dons armor and sword to put bells on the cats as a warning. They soon send him fleeing downstairs. He next tries a dog costume, in vain. From the trinkets that have fallen through the cracks in the floor, Mouse decides to make jeweled collars for the bells. With a fashion show he hopes to convince the cats that these are the latest style. Unfortunately the cats prepare to bake Mouse and Brown Bat into pies instead. Fortunately the princess arrives in time to save them. Inspired, Mouse finally has the princess solve his problem. Von Buhler uses an incredible variety of media including plaster, wood, mother-of-pearl, and characters painted in oils and cut out to create and photograph the chiefly dark, very complex detailed scenes. The jacket shows a cat peering in at the cluttered basement home of Mouse and Bat. But on the cover we are confronted by startling portraits of the eight felines all dressed up and staring at us. Fancy thin gold frames add a serious note to each scene, but humor prevails. Across many double pages there are two levels of action, upstairs and downstairs, with a different typeface for each area. The anthropomorphic characters have strong, individual personalities, inspiring close attention to the illustrations along with the story. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

PreS-Gr 1—In solving the Aesop riddle, von Buhler creates a lavish castle complete with handmade rooms, highly decorated backgrounds, and characters formed as cutout paper dolls. When photographed, the collage illustrations have a three-dimensional look that, while intriguing, sometimes tends to overpower the simple story. The color choices, which appropriately reflect the castle setting, tend to cast a darkish hue; however, the cats' huge eyes help to compensate, bringing an interesting contrast to the page. The back jacket flap details von Buhler's production of her illustrations. As the story begins, a two-tiered, upstairs-downstairs setting finds Princess and her eight spoiled cats enjoying luxurious lives in contrast to the humdrum basement surroundings of Mouse and his friend Brown Bat. Determined to share some of that good life, Mouse devises a number of schemes to bell the felines, only to be outwitted (and needing rescue from Brown Bat) at every turn. After learning that Princess is about to celebrate her birthday with a party, Mouse finally, and cleverly, concocts a way to accomplish his mission; with the cats belled, the final page finds the duo indulging in an array of gooey birthday treats. This tale will work well in conjunction with Aesop's original fable, which conveniently prefaces the story. Children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

School Library Journal

Following a retelling of the Aesop fable, Von Buhler embellishes the tale with a luxurious castle, a princess, some pampered cats and an inventive, brave mouse with a faithful bat friend. The poor mouse lives in a dark basement, cold and hungry, surviving on the crumbs that fall through the floorboards. He has grandiose schemes to bell the cats, involving elaborate costumes. Of course he is spotted each time and subjected to much humiliation by the cats. The Princess's unexpected kindness inspires the mouse's final, successful plan. It's an upstairs-downstairs scenario carried through in every way, the spreads frequently split in two horizontally to show the contrast. The typeface is appropriate to the location, heavy and bright in the Princess's rooms, while thin and pale in the mouse's quarters. The action is richly illustrated in profusely detailed multimedia collage, framed in ornate gilt, which again emphasizes the differences in the lifestyles of the characters. The upstairs scenes glow in lavish, bright gold tones, and the downstairs scenes are dark and gloomy. Young readers will pore over this one again and again. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews