Where is Catkin?

The illustrator of this book, Julie Paschkis, currently has a fabric line called Catkin. I bought the book to go with the children's quilt that I am making. The story of the book, better described elsewhere, is very cute and very appropriate for children. The illustrations are a great match for my fabric and I look forward to having grandchildren someday who will enjoy the story and the quilt when they come to visit their grandparents!Really lovely and I recommend the book.

I hunted down this book after my niece made me a quilt with fabric based on the illustrations in this book. I sent the book to her daughter's (2 & 5) as a thank you gift. The girls love Catkins adventures and discoveries outside.

I bought cloth designed by her also. This is a book that my grandchildren will probably like but will stay at grandma's house.

The illustrations are beautiful and the story is cute. My daughters like finding the animals in the pictures--even in the margins.

Julie Paschkis makes cats look fun to draw. There. Done. Shortest review I ever wrote. Where's my hot toddy?Aw, heck. Look at me. Old softie that I am I can't just stop with that. Because truth be told, where Julie Paschkis is involved words of great length and descriptive qualities must be utilized. In this particular case, we're dealing with a book of siblings. Janet Lord, sister to Ms. Paschkis, lays down a simple text of a cat searching for little edible animals and insects, and Ms. Paschkis picks it right up with her customary gouache stylings. The result is one cute little package. A kitty book, a book of hidden animals, and a story of eternal feline frustration. More eye-popping than your usual picture book fare, this is one cute cat that stands out from the pack.Though fond of his owner Amy, Catkin leaps off her lap to go on the hunt. First on the menu, a tasty cricket chirping, "Kerik-kerik. Kerik-kerik." However the quick moving insect scuttles away. The text asks, "Where is Cricket?" Sharp-eyed readers are then encouraged to sift through the illustrations' multiple details to find the hidden treasure waiting. Next Catkin tries his hand at a plump green amphibian, but quick as a wink it disappears. "Where is Frog?" This continues for some time with a mouse, a snake, and a bird until at last Catkin climbs up a tall tree and gets stuck. Along comes Amy to rescue her cat, and the last image shows Catkin curled comfortably in her lap purr purr purring away.The first thing any children's librarian is going to think of while reading this book is the Caldecott Award winning book " Kitten's First Full Moon " by Kevin Henkes. Only 25% of this is due to the plot and writing, mind you. It is true that in both books a cat continually pounces on something, only to find its paws empty (and occasionally wet). But the images are what make up the remaining 75% of the feeling. Though this book indulges in rich deep oranges and greens (with a side order of blue and magenta for spice) the pictures of Catkin leaping and coming up disappointed ring true. Of course, Catkin is a much more stylized feline when compared to the kitten of Henkes. Catkin's paws, for example, are lacking claws, coming out rather as rounded tufts (one orange, one white). Still, there are similarities to the ways their bodies crouch and pounce and leap and dive. Both illustrators have watched their own fair share of cats.Detail oriented freak that I am, I took an inordinate amount of pleasure in realizing how Paschkis chose to use the borders in this book. Made up of the same swirling menagerie you'll find on the endpapers, Paschkis hides little details in the designs for the sharp eyed tots reading this book. With each animal that Catkin fails to catch, that same critter suddenly appears in the border, surrounding the page. The result is that kids end up not only trying to spot the multiple animals hiding on each page in the storyline, but also in the borders as well. The best part comes at the end. You've one final image of Catkin purring happily in Amy's lap, the world all curls and swirls about them. The opposite page is completely blank of everything but one image. There, in the orange page's upper right-hand corner, is a delicate little blue bird. It is remarkable in its simplicity.I know that Ms. Paschkis has a lot on her plate. This year alone she's produced not only this but also Margarita Engle's non-fiction picture book pleasure " Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian ". Ms. Lord for her part tends to pair with her sister when she writes picture books. She doesn't need to, of course. Her words stand plenty strong on their own. Just the same, it really is a pleasure to see a book as whole and complete as this one. The words and pictures complement one another beautifully without a hitch. Consider "Where is Catkin?" a keeper then. For cat lovers and cat neutrals alike.On shelves now.

Amy was cuddling with Catkin, an orange and white cat with green eyes, when he suddenly jumped off a rock wall in search of prey. The beautiful swirling flowers and grasses were hiding a little cricket who sang to him, "Kerik-kerik." He pushed aside a yellow petaled flower with a red interior to take a peek at the cricket, but he had moved away. No luck. Catkin decided to head over to the pond where he heard someone say, "Garrump. Garrump." He smiled and leaped for the frog, but the frog was faster and hid beneath a lily pad. No luck. It was off to the gardening shed for him where he spotted the tail of a little field mouse. "Squeak! Squeak!" Hrummmph . . . that little rascal got away too.Catkin was not one to give up easily and returned to the garden to see what he could see in the rock pile. "Sssssssssssss. Sssssssssssss." He raced over to the snake who was "long and striped." He stood on top of the rock pile and turned his head to the side. His adventurous hunt was starting to get a little discouraging and his big green eyes looked sad. All of a sudden he heard a new sound. "Chereep. Chereep." He pounced and the feathers began to fly, but no luck. Everyone could see him, but he could not see them as they were all hidden in the colorful garden, pond, and the trees. Catkin blended into the garden too, but decided to climb the tree in search of a bird. Would Amy be able to find him way up in the branches of the tree?This swirling adventure of Calkin the curious cat will mesmerize the reader as they wind their way through these colorful pages. Calkin didn't have much luck catching anything, but the chase was half of the adventure. It was a lot of fun watching this wide-eyed cat as he tried to catch several critters with no success. There were many "oops" moments as each little critter escaped. My favorite page was naturally the one in which Calkin looked slightly perplexed as every one of them peeked at him from the safety of their surroundings. There is no doubt you'll fall in love with the artwork, artwork that reminds me somehow of Russian folk art. Oh, and no doubt you'll fall in love with Calkin at the same time!

Catkin prowls around, looking for native wildlife to kill. Apparently Amy lets him be out whenever he wants, contributing to the decline native wildlife. Yeah, the story is cute, but it makes it seem okay for cats to roam free outside, killing at will. (FYI - keep your !@#$ cats inside)

Catkin, a curious cat, searches for creatures that go kerik-kerik; garrump, garrump; squeak, squeak; ssssss, ssssss. Catkin leaps and pounces, and jumps and races, but has no success. Hidden in the fanciful pictures, readers will have better luck finding the cricket, the frog, the mouse, the snake. When Amy comes seeking Catkin, will she find him? With his green eyes, curling tail, and eager smile, Catkin is a delightful character, and this book is a perfect gift for very young cat lovers.