I am Cat

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A cat sleeps, curled up in a warm place, and while it sleeps it dreams. . . of being a tiger, flame cat of the forest; a cheetah - fast as the wind on the African plains; a lion, lounging through the heat of the day, tangled in sunshine on the African savannah; a jaguar, perfectly camouflaged deep in the jungle. And the cat dreams of being a lynx, a puma, a snow leopard, a Scottish wild cat, an Asian fishing cat, and the rare Amur leopard. Finally Cat wakes, a domestic cat again, telling his dreams to the child who is stroking him. Ten wild habitats, ten wild cats and one domestic cat are dramatically and beautifully illustrated in this unique celebration of the cat.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-4-Cat, curled tight on a round tasseled pillow, sleeps and dreams. The tabby's poetic musings accompany beautiful watercolor paintings of 10 great cats. Youngsters will stare into the yellow eyes of the Siberian tiger, that "bright flame-cat of the forest,/striped like the shadows,/sun-scorched." Other spreads hint at untold stories-the cheetah hunting on the African plains and the lynx walking through "resin-scented forests,/ears pricked for owl hoot,/nose sharp for hare scent." The lion, "heavy mane tangled in sunshine," rests with his pride on the savanna, while the puma in a cave watches as wild horses run in the distance. Cat also dreams of being a snow leopard walking on the "roof of the world,/dressed in a coat of thick dappled fur" and swimming in a tropical river with scarlet macaws flying overhead like a jaguar, "coat black as midnight, beautiful." Sadly, Cat also dreams of the Scottish wildcat on the verge of extinction and the regal Amur leopard, its "thick coat coloured like leaves in autumn,/almost the last" of its kind. These dramatic portraits, rich in language and eye appeal, bring both the felines and their environments to life and make the information in the back matter about these previously unnamed big cats especially memorable. A solid choice for all libraries.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

This vibrant picture book takes children into the dream world of a domestic cat and, by extension, across the world into a variety of habitats. Lying peacefully asleep on a quilted pillow, a house cat is transformed imaginatively into a series of larger, wilder relatives. I dream that I roam / deep in the jungle, / a bright flame-cat of the forest, / striped like the shadows, / sun-scorched opens the narrative, in which the cat takes on the persona of a different feline species (tiger, lynx, snow leopard, etc.) on each of nine double-page spreads. The pages provide a paragraph of information and a small painting of each cat. Dignified in tone, the text is succinct and evocative. While the nicely composed watercolor paintings focus on the animals, they give a strong sense of place as well, from an African savanna to a snowy Asian mountain to a forest in the Scottish Highlands. An imaginative introduction to cats in the wild.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Striking illustrations and lyrical descriptions will please fans of big cats, but this combination of pictures, fiction and facts may not have quite enough substance to inspire repeat readings or engage general readers. Morris' beautiful watercolors are clearly the major draw. Starting with a marmalade house cat and moving through a series of nine wild felines, each double-page spread shows a different kind of cat. Individuals, pairs and parent-child combinations appear in a variety of geographic settings. The central premise, that each scene is a dream of the sleeping house cat, feels a smidge predictable, while the repetitive start to each section of text, "I dream" begins to pall after the first few pages. Another minor quibble is the confusion that may arise from the cat dreaming of being both what appears to be a mother puma with her three cubs and, a few page turns later, a male lion lazing in the sun. Like the paintings, however, the quality of the text is distinctive enough to overcome these weaknesses. One to three sentences poetically describe setting and actions and in some cases allude to specific situations--for example, the endangered status of the Amur leopard. A final double-page spread offers thumbnail paintings of the different cats with miscellaneous facts appended. Slight but exquisite, this lovely hybrid will supplement more comprehensive approaches to the topic. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.