The Twenty-five Mixtec Cats

by Matthew Gollub, Leovigildo V. Martinez (Illustrator)

Overview

In a dusty mountain village of Oaxaca, the local healer returns from market with a litter of twenty-five kittens. The unfamiliar animals are not a welcome arrival. Misconceptions about cats abound, and some people go to great lengths to make the good healer get rid of them. But when an evil spell threatens a member of the community, the Mixtec cats prove their worth and win their way into the villagers’ hearts.

100 Children’s Titles for Reading and Sharing—New York Public Library
Artwork honored by the Society of Illustrators in New York
Film Advisory Board Award for Excellence
Paintings and text displayed in Art Institute of Chicago and over 40 museums nationwide

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781889910291
Publisher:	Tortuga Press
Publication date:	08/28/2004
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Matthew Gollub is a nationally known children’s author, speaker and performer. He has created 18 picture books which together have garnered 25 national awards and distinctions. His musical narrations on audio CDs accompany some of his most popular books including The Jazz Fly and Jazz Fly 2: The Jungle Pachanga. A dynamic drummer and bilingual presenter, he has also performed at over 1,000 elementary schools nationwide, inspiring students and families to read for fun. He lives with his family in Santa Rosa, CA.

Editorial Reviews

An excellent addition to any library!” —ALA Booklist

“Witty and complex illustrations.” —New York Times Book Review

“100 Children’s Titles for Reading and Sharing” —New York Public Library

From the Publisher

Mysticism and superstition underlie this humorous Mexican folktale, the debut of both author and artist. An impoverished healer buys a litter of kittens with the hope of reselling them, only to encounter the mistrust of the villagers who ``imagined wild things.'' Fears that ``they eat mice but also cows,'' and ``they'll set fire to our fields'' drive the townspeople to hire an evil healer to dispose of the cats. The pack of coyotes she dispatches prove to be no match for the crafty felines, who ultimately win the hearts of the villagers by helping the good healer save the butcher's life. Martinez's whimsical, masterfully executed watercolors are rendered in sundried pastels and sandy earthtones befitting the South-of-the-border locale. Surrounded by wide margins full of mischievous cats, prowling coyotes and various Indian icons, the paintings seem tipped onto their fanciful backgrounds--a particularly eye-catching technique. Faces manage to appear at once stylized and realistic, while shading and shadow are used throughout to striking effect. Indeed, the artwork somewhat eclipses the text here: Gollub's prose is always serviceable--and occasionally more--but some passages seem repetitious and overlong. Ages 6-up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Sun-baked adobe homes cover the mountain village in this original tale from Oaxaca (wa-HAH-kah), in southern Mexico. It is a lesson on being tolerant of newcomers, of change. When a litter of kittens arrives, the superstitious residents spread all sorts of misinformation regarding these foreign creatures-until the cats prove themselves loyal and valuable. Leovigildo Martinez, a celebrated Oaxacan artist, depicts his village in surrealistic shadows, scorched areas smudged with dark corners.

Children's Literature - Deborah Zink Roffino

K-Gr 6-- It is a rare original folktale that has the feeling and sensibility of the real thing, and this one succeeds on all levels. A healer from a little village in Oaxaca makes a bare-bones living from his craft. One day, at the Mixtec market, he is given 25 kittens. Thinking to sell them in his village, where no one has cats, he takes them home in a pillowcase. But none of the superstitious villagers will take one, so he becomes their owner. Though the animals grow into loyal and useful helpers to the good man, the people remain suspicious of them. Finally, when the butcher is placed under a spell by an evil healer, it is the cats who save her, and peace comes to the village. The story is told in easy colloquial English that has the cadenced feel of Spanish. The illustrations are remarkable. Done in predominantly desert hues of yellow, ocher, blue, and pink, in a primitive, folk style, the bordered watercolors bring the text to life. The people are bulky and have a sense of volume created by the use of white space. Their faces resemble those of the cats, giving an eerie relatedness to the characters. This is a tale that children will pore over and want to hear again and again. Stronger in narrative line than The Woman Who Outshone the Sun (Children's Book Pr, 1991) by Alejandro Cruz Martinez, it's a sound introduction to some of the elements of Mexican folklore. --Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA

School Library Journal