Anushka Ravishankar

This is a circular story, beginning with the same words with which the story ends. While the words are few and the illustrations graphic and bold, a listener or reader might be delighted by the verse and the opportunities to actively read. The type works in tandem with the graphic illustrations to give another dimension of movement and volume to the illustrations. The tiger is timid and the people interested. Will they trap the tiger? Will they paint it electric blue? Will they keep it in a zoo? Old and young will delight in the outcome of this engaging and minimalist story.

To encourage writing I thought this verse could introduce the idea of simple rhymes and the ways in which they could guide dialogue or the storyline. For readers considering how to write their own story this could pose an intriguing challenge. Something out of place, or interacting in a new environment. What do people do when they encounter this new creature or thing? Is it resolved? Do the people agree? What happens in the end? I found the simple illustrations appealing for this challenge as well with the idea that simple, but empathetic illustrations with strong line work and graphic quality can go a long way. With only three colors the illustrator manages to convey the tigers timidity, fear, confusion, and eventual joy at being set free.… (mehr)

Indian children's author Anyshka Ravishankar retells a traditional Japanese folktale in this engaging picture-book. A young boy with a penchant for drawing cats at all times, Akiro is the despair of his parents. Eventually they send him to the local priest to be educated, but eventually this man concludes that Akiro doesn't have the right temperament. Traveling to another village, the boy finds a seemingly abandoned temple, and draws cats all over the rice paper screens, before going to sleep in a cupboard. Overnight, the cats come to life and slay the rat-demon haunting the temple, thereby restoring it to its owners. Turning down an offer to be trained as a replacement for the head priest of this second temple, Akiro continues with his cat-drawing ways, eventually becoming a famous artist...

The story contained in The Boy Who Drew Cats is a well-known one, and I have seen it retold many times. Here in the west, the most famous retelling is probably that done by Lafcadio Hearn, although I have also encountered it in Natalia Belting's collection, Cat Tales, as well as in picture-book versions by Margaret Hodges and Aki Sogabe, Arthur Levine and Frédéric Clément, and David Johnson. I enjoyed Anushka Ravishankar's telling here, and appreciated German illustrator Christine Kastl's accompanying artwork. Having read a number of American versions of this Japanese tale, it was interesting to encounter an Indian one, demonstrating how folklore travels, and how appealing it can be, across cultural and geographic boundaries. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, as well as cat-lovers.… (mehr)