Deborah King (2)

A smoky gray cat named Cloudy narrates this beautifully contemplative picture-book, describing how he is the color of thunder and rain, and how he blends into the natural world around him. Swept away "like a ball of fluff" when the winds blows, stalking in the shadows when the sun shines, rolling in the dirt to disappear in a cloud of dust, our feline hero leads a quiet carefree life, retreating indoors at night thanks to his dog friend, whose door he uses into a human home...

I love picture books, and I love cats, so Cloudy was pretty much guaranteed to appeal to me! I'm not sure how I've missed it all these years—it was first published in the UK in 1989, and then in the states in 1990—but once I saw its breathtakingly beautiful cover a few days ago, I knew I had to read it. It did not disappoint, and though it is the first title I have picked up from British author/artist Deborah King, it will most certainly not be the last. The artwork here is just gorgeous, so much so that I would have trouble choosing a favorite scene, while the text is simple but evocative. Cloudy is clearly a human-less cat, and while that might feel melancholy in another book, here it feels natural and right. I was conscious, while reading, that many might be dismayed by the prospect of a domestic feline on its own in the "wild" (it's clearly a rural area), given the harm they can cause to songbirds, but even my awareness of that issue did not lessen my enjoyment of image and text. Truly, a lovely picture book, one I would wholeheartedly recommend to young cat lovers, and one which has convinced me to explore Deborah King's work more fully.… (meer)