Puss in Boots is a 25th century tale, retold here with new, beautiful illustrations. The style is very 'fairy tale' to me, with a softer light and influences from french art. The mischievous cat for me, however, is not a character who is playful or a 'Lord of Misrule'. I see him a deceitful, and borderline cruel. Perhaps it is this narrative adaptation, but the ogre is much less aggressive in this version, even a good host to a sneaky cat. It also annoys me that me youngest son does absolutely nothing the whole time. I've read too many retellings where this is not the case, and my favorite versions are one's where the youngest son becomes the youngest daughter. The illustrations do make up for some of it. ( )

This lovingly illustrated version of the classic tale of Puss & Boots is a must-include for teachers and librarians who are teaching fairy tales. This particular edition really emphasizes the briliance of the cat, the humans are mere pawns in his game. ( )

The success of this version of Perrault's well-known tale is due primarily to the caliber of artist Fred Marcellino's work. Filled with light and muted colors, illustrations vary in layout between double-page spreads captioned with text to full-page and partial-page panels: every page has something for listeners to see. This is important given the length of the text, itself displayed in an unintimidating, enlarged muted-brown font, framed in a thin-line border. Those unfamiliar with the fairytale will marvel at Puss's clever plan to elevate his master, especially when he outwits a not-too-scary-looking ogre. This Caldecott-honor book is a worthy addition to any K-3 classroom or home library. ( )

After a miller dies, his youngest son is left with nothing but his father's cat. Disappointed, the son gives up hope until Puss promises to help him. A clever little cat, Puss brings choice game to the King for a year under the lie that the Marquis of Carabas (the miller's son) is sending his regards. The King goes out for a drive and Puss tells the boy to get in the river. When the King passes, Puss calls for help and the King saves the boy. While distracted, Puss runs ahead and tells many farmers to say that their land belongs to the Marquis, which impresses the King. Finally, Puss tricks the richest ogre in the land into turning into a mouse and gobbles him up. When the King and boy arrive, the King is so impressed that he lets the boy marry his daughter, the princess. Puss and the new Marquis live happily ever after.

The illustrations are dulled colors and have a texture as if they were done on sketch paper with colored pencils. The colors are various shades of yellows, red, oranges, and browns, giving the illustrations a warm tone. There is no line art in this book. Even without the lines, there is plenty of movement and detail in the images. The shading is done well and the lighting makes it look like the story take place during the summer. Perspective is done well, giving the reader a sense of motion in the picture. The eyes can naturally scan the image to follow what is going on in the story.

The text itself is a light gray, which makes it a bit hard to read on a white page. I'm not sure what the reason for this was and I would rather it be a darker shade. Luckily, the text is big and simple enough for small readers so even though the color is a bit too light, you can still see the words. I was also surprised at how much Puss threatened people. He was witty and clever, but he and his owner lied about everything and I don't believe that is a good message to send to kids. ( )

Puss the Cat does everything he can to get his master what he needs in life. He is masterful in manipulation and eventually gets his master a castle after convincing a shape shifting ogre to transform into a mouse so Puss could eat it. All off these things lead his master to marry a princess and Puss lives put his days in royalty.