Books at Bedtime: Two Cat Stories from Tulika Books
Thursday, February 28th, 2013Two very different but equally delightful books from Tulika (India) provide a treat for catlovers to share with their children.
The cover of Where’s That Cat? (Tulika 2009/2011) shows a cheeky wee ginger kitten peeking from behind a curtain (and this is mirrored on the back, but Pooni the cat is no more than a cut-out outline) – but it offers no clue as to the rich detail of the book’s Indian setting. However, I was sure it would be a treat because it is written and illustrated by Manjula Padmanabhan, who created the wonderful I Am Different. Manjula gave some background about Where’s That Cat? in a blog
post for Tulika when it was first published in 2009.
Little girl Minnie comes home from school and can’t find Pooni. She goes into the garden but, funnily enough, Pooni doesn’t come when she’s called! Minnie asks people all along the action-packed street if they’ve seen the cat, and meanwhile young listeners/readers will be eagerly hunting her out as she goes about her business, practically under Minnie’s nose. Unusually for this kind of book that plays hide-and-seek with the reader, there comes a point when it really does seem that Pooni has disappeared, and readers’ dismay may equal Minnie’s – but, of course, by the end there is general relief from everybody both inside and outside the book. Pooni has the last word – “Prrr” – and the final illustration shows Minnie cuddling Pooni, who is no doubt completely unaware of the trouble she has caused. You can almost hear her purring!
The second book is Miaow! by Alankrita Jain. There are no humans in this story, just two cats, one black, one white; both with green eyes. The story is short and whimsically charming. A black cat falls into a can of paint and becomes a white cat – until it rains and the paint all washes off. Then it meets a white cat and they become friends… maybe even fall in love, but that is left to readers to infer. The simple story is told elegantly, and the stylised cats in the illustrations capture beautifully the elegant (yes, there’s that word again!) stretches and shapes that cats manage to make with their bodies. An added bonus are the absolutely gorgeous inside covers that are filled in the manner of traditional Warli art (see Tara Books’ Do! for example) with little black cats doing all sorts of (human) activities.
Do take a look inside both Where’s That Cat? and Miaow! via Tulika’s website (click on “Look Inside” under the cover image). Like all Tulika’s books, both books are available in several languages, and Miaow! is bilingual with English – the copy I have is English/Hindi, translated into Hindi by Sandhya Rao. Both these books are perfect for young children, especially if they are at the stage with their reading that they want you to read to them, and then pick the book up for themselves.



Author Ting-Xing Ye’s mother used to say, “It’s typical! Three Monks, no water!” whenever she or her brothers and sisters tried to get out of doing something. Three Monks, No Water (Annick Press, 1997) is the story behind that enigmatic expression – and since reading it, I can see it becoming a useful phrase in our home!
A chee-lin is a Chinese mythological creature, “a horned beast with the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, and the hooves of a horse”. When a giraffe was brought to China from Africa in the 15th century it was considered to be a chee-lin, bringing good fortune. We learn this at the beginning of James Rumford’s beautiful picture-book Chee Lin: A Giraffe’s Journey, alongside a beautiful ink drawing by Shen Du (1357-1434) showing a contemporary portrayal of the chee-lin/giraffe. What follows is Rumford’s interpretation of Tweega the giraffe’s story, from his birth in East Africa, through his incredible journey to China and his long life in the imperial palace gardens, including the visiting artist painting his portrait, to his mysterious disappearance on a summer’s day.
The image of little Azad and his camel curled up together fast asleep on the title page of Azad’s Camel by
I received a scrumptious parcel through the post this week – some gifts and goodies from Corinne and Aline’s time at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) in Singapore. I’m going to unpack them slowly and with relish here on the blog so that you can enjoy them too.
Barefoot Books can always be depended on for their wonderful anthologies of stories from all over the world, and Grandmothers’ Stories: Wise Woman Tales from Many Cultures (Barefoot Books, 1999/2006) is no exception. The eight stories included are retold by Burleigh Mutén in wonderful prose that just begs to be read aloud, and vividly illustrated by Siân Bailey. They are framed by an introduction in which three grandchildren ask their grandmother to tell them a story, and a conclusion in which (it will be no surprise) the two older children have fallen asleep but the little one is wide awake, asking to hear them all again.
There is something special about grandparents sharing stories with their grandchildren, especially when those stories come from their own lives (though young children can be disconcerting in their definition of the olden days and their grandparents place in them…). Over the next few weeks, I will be highlighting books that draw young children into that special bond through stories narrated by grandmothers from around the world.
In Korea, we join the Kim family and become friends especially with Ok Cha and her brother Yung Tu; in China we meet Ah Shung and his sister Yu Lang, and the rest of the Ling household. Both grandmothers are deeply loved and respected, and have a wealth of stories to tell and retell – and the time to tell them. Young readers/listeners will be just as interested in the children’s antics as in the stories themselves.
When I was about eight, I wrote a poem about Silly Billy, well more of a ditty really – but it has stayed with me. I therefore knew I had to read 































