Becky Bravo

In the glittering chambers of heaven, the angels of God worked to paint the creatures of the Earth. Each creature was a single, unbroken shade, because that was how it had always been done. In the chamber of the angel Miral, whose work it was to paint the world's cats, the shades of black, white and yellow were used, leading to cats that were all black, all white, and all yellow. Then one day Miral was given an apprentice name Rahal, an unusual angel with a sparkle in his eye, a halo slightly askew, and lots of questions. Rahal wondered why the cats had to be a single color only, and why they had to be one of the three chosen shades. Accepting his master's answer that this was how it had always been done, Rahal carries on with his work, but the first time he is left on his own, he begins to paint cats in multiple colors, using all sorts of hues. But what will God say, when he sees these unusual creatures...?

Published in Quezon City, in the Philippines, The Cat Painter appears to have been written originally in Tagalog as "Ang Pinto ng Pusa," and then translated into English in this edition. The original text is included at the rear of the book, on the last two pages, while the bulk of the book contains the translation, a paragraph or so per two-page spread, paired with colorful, cartoon-like artwork. It isn't clear to me whether there is also an edition with just the Tagalog text, paired with the artwork. However that may be, this was a delightful little original pouquoi story, explaining how cats (and then other creatures) came to have such variegated coloring. I particularly enjoyed the scene in which God is amused by the colorfil kitties, who (naturally) climb all over him, and declares that he has been waiting for just such a change. The artwork here is colorful and cute, and well-suited to the tale, although there were times I found it too cartoonish for my taste. All in all, an appealing little book! It's more of an early reader than a picture-book, and the publisher recommends it for children ages eight through eleven. For my part, I recommend it to young cat lovers, readers who enjoy pouquoi stories, and anyone looking for Filipino children's books.… (meer)