New Cat - Hardcover

Choi, Yangsook

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374355126 ISBN 13: 9780374355128

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 1999

Synopsis

New Cat loves living in Mr. Kim's tofu factory, but she is frustrated because she has seen a mouse in the production room, where Mr. Kim doesn't allow her to go. One night, a door is left open and New Cat disobeys Mr. Kim's rule. As she chases the mouse, she is surprised to discover that a fire has broken out! Soon the fire department comes and the fire is brought under control. But where is New Cat? Then a bucket of tofu begins to meow, and a wet New Cat emerges, safe and heroic. In this sweet story about a feisty feline, Yangsook Choi uses a rich palette and straightforward text to illustrate the enduring bond between a pet and her person.

About this title

About the Author:

Yangsook Choi grew up in Korea, but now lives in New York City. She is also the illustrator of Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee, an ALA Notable Children's Book and winner of the 1998 International Reading Association Children's Book Award.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-In this well-crafted tale, New Cat, a watch cat in a Bronx tofu factory, takes her work seriously, facing a moral dilemma and saving the day. Readers will begin to chuckle on the first page as they meet the feline with her heavy-lidded eyes and downturned mouth, seated at the president's desk. Her dilemma is the pesky mouse in the production room, which she is not allowed to enter. On one fateful night, she overcomes caution to enter the inner factory and face down the wily rodent, who is chewing an electrical wire. A fire begins and starts to spread until New Cat overturns a bucket of tofu, halting the progress of the flames until the firemen arrive. The owner's happy discovery of his missing cat inside another bucket of tofu brings events to a satisfying and funny finish. Simple, strong paintings add a comic tone as they amplify the straightforward text. Tawny tones illuminate the somber gray-and-brown factory setting, and the flat, broad animal figures tend to dwarf the humans, who are secondary actors in the cat-and-mouse scenario. Younger children will relish the firefighters and their tangle of hose, and the details and perspectives will amuse readers of all ages. The clarity and economy of text and pictures are beautifully suited to reading aloud.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0374355126
• ISBN 13: 9780374355128
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Choi Yangsook