Catilda

by John Stadler

Book Overview

If you listen, you may hear Catilda singing sadly. She misses her teddy bear, Ollie, whom she's lost on a trip to the city. If you listen, you will hear her parents creeping up the stairs, talking... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689847289
• ISBN13: 9780689847288
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Atheneum Books
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.7" x 11.5"
• Age Range: 2 to 5 years

Customer Reviews

No, I'm Here Too, and Think This Book Deserves Much More Recognition!

So, what or who IS Catilda? Catilda is the female feline daughter of the book's narrators, her parents. Early one evening (while wearing her frilly-necked orange nightie), she wanders onto the beach, intent on finding her long lost teddy bear, "Ollie." Expanding her search, Catilda climbs atop a shore bird, who drops her in waters thick with ominous grey fins piercing the air. Sharks? No, those are dolphins, who take her to the safety of a mysterious small island. One page later, a giant wave is about to crash on the just-rescued cat. Catilda finds herself in one fantastic scene after another: Every page is an unexpected adventure, and the book is full of surprises and clever twists. Catilda safely rides the crest of the huge wave (drawn in a centuries-old Japanese style), lands on a ship's mast, then steps off to rest on a cloud (smiling sneakily at us!) from which she sees her beloved bear, perched on top of the Statue of Felinity. (OK, that takes a little explaining: Her teddy bear was lost at the top of the Statue of Liberty, except here the statue has Catilda's smiling face and whiskers.) Just where are we, anyway? We're in Catilda's dream, and as we SEE her adventures, we HEAR her parents talking about her (see, your parents are never far away.) Just as Catilda and her rescued "Ollie" fall into a bright orange plane, we read about Mom and Dad wondering whether their little kitty is asleep yet: "We'd better tiptoe." "Shhh! Whisper." "I'm sure she's fast asleep" "Yes, you're probably right." "Oh, let's just go back down." This prosaic dialogue occurs during four pages showing Catilda's wild adventures--the contrast is clever and funny. The climax continues this disjunction between text and picture. WHile her parents discuss whether they should look in on their daughter, Catilda... 1. loses her seat in the plane, but 2. slides down a rainbow back home, while 3. she loses hold of Ollie, however 4. that same shore bird plucks the teddy bear out of the ocean, and 5. delivers it to Catilda, who hugs "Ollie," and goes back to sleep. Finally, Catilda's parents decide they'd better see if she is ok. With increasing urgency, they approach her bedroom ("Open the door." "Hurry!"), where they see Catilda safe and soundly asleep. Here, the two stories--Catilda's dream and the parents' dialogue--finally merge into one: "Ah, there she is... Goodnight, Catilda." There's a bit of anime in John Stadler's magnificently illustrated book. He draws young Catilda, and several of her seaside animal friends, with big, wide eyes and an unexpected vibrancy. The backgrounds are wide expanses of soft watercolors; blues, greens, and orange predominate. Sometimes our hero seems to pop out of the page, as Stadler paints extreme close-ups of Catilda in front of simple geometric shapes. It's an original look; however, as these pictures are soft and comprehensible (there's none of anime's jangly feeling or confusing multi-panels.) "Catilda" is one of the fine

Am I the single one here?

this is the sweetest book... I've bought it in a small store for a baby shower, and I'll have to get the other one in stock for when I have a kid. The drawings are simple and beautiful, the text is sparse -- but by the end of the book, I have tears in my eyes. I think it will be a classic in my family... subtle and raw at the same time -- can't wait to share it with a kid!!!