This book for readers ages five to nine offers a glimpse into what we humans can learn about compromise from cats' uncompromising nature. Cats may be cute, and they may be cuddly, but they surely have their own Opinions about Things. As T.S. Eliot famously said of the Rum Tum Tugger in his poem by that name:
" ... he will do
As he do do
And there's no doing anything about it!"
The cat in this two-part story goes on unleashed walks with her human, an endearing, somewhat forlorn-looking character who narrates their adventures. In Part 1, the human announces, "I'm the one in charge," but today the cat is having none of that! When her frustrated human gives up and leaves her to her own devices, she vanishes, and we witness the narrator's total dejection and fear that she's gone forever.
In Part 2 (because cats have a way of reappearing), the human tells us, "my cat gets to be in charge. It's usually me, but now we're doing the opposite." We won't give away what happens, but it's full of surprises, including a moment of wonderment illustrated by an awesome three-panel fold-out.
Throughout both parts, two qualities make this book extra special. First, the human's questioning vulnerability perfectly matches the cat's self-sufficiency. When she doesn't come as expected, the narrator wonders, "How could a walk go so wrong?" and stands waiting for her through rain, falling leaves, and a snowfall that condense time to make a day seem seasons long. When the cat leads them into a pathless woods, her human nervously asks, "How will we get home?"
Second, the illustrations add an unusual depth of perspective, literally and figuratively. Stockholm-based author and illustrator Sara Lundberg won a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book award for The Cat Way, and it's easy to see why. Some views happen from far away, as if we're in a second-floor apartment or atop a tree looking down on the action. Others are stunningly straightforward, like the cat's wide-eyed attention upon confronting a squirrel face to face.
Along with the narrator, readers discover that suspending our need to be in control doesn't lead to easy outcomes. But it does open up whole new worlds, and it's essential to genuinely reciprocal inter-species encounters.
