Books for Kids: Cat tales for animal lovers of all ages

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The World of MaximeBy Lucile de Pesloüan

Illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn

Translated by Helen Mixter

Aldana Libros / Greystone Kids

Ages 8 to 12Cat lovers of all ages are bound to enjoy this book about a 10-year-old who is happiest around books and cats, and who is something of a loner because she feels mostly misunderstood by the adults and kids in her life. Until, that is, she spots a series of half-hidden bowls full of “cat kibble” in the lane behind her Montreal home. Her mother has always told her not to feed cats other than Turmeric, her own orange tabby, so when Maxime sees the bowls are all empty the next day, she decides to do a little detective work and find out who is behind this mystery. The result is something of a surprise — and opens Maxime’s life up considerably, eventually earning her a friendship with a couple of fellow cat lovers, one of whom is old enough to be her grandmother.

First published three years ago in French by Les Éditions de la Pastèque, this book owes much of its charm and appeal to the lively illustrations (in India ink, watercolour, pencils and coloured inks) by Jacques Goldstyn, an award-winning political cartoonist who was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2018. His art in this book not only captures the traits and behaviours of a wide variety of felines, it also depicts Montreal in ways that will speak to young and old residents alike. The endpapers he has created are a bonus and, one suspects, based on cats the artist has encountered in real life.

The book ends with an afterword by Zazie Todd, an expert in animal behaviour, who provides useful tips on what to do if you find a cat — and why, as Maxime’s mother says, you shouldn’t put food out for them.

My Friend MayWritten and illustrated by Julie Flett

Greystone Kids

Ages 4 to 8

Award-winning Cree-Métis author/illustrator Julie Flett gives us a story to which any pet-loving reader (or listener) can relate: that of young Margaux, who grew up with a big, black cat named May and knew all her favourite activities and hiding places. One day, however, May didn’t come when Margaux called her. After searching fruitlessly, Margaux joined her auntie, Nitôsis, who was moving to the city, helped pack up her aunt’s belongings and tried not to worry about May. By the time a moving truck arrives at Nitôsis’s new home and Flett’s stylized illustrations show the young woman unpacking boxes, I’d pretty much figured out what happened to May, but the author/illustrator gives readers a few more scenes before Nitôsis hears a faint “meow” and discovers May in one of the boxes she is unpacking.

An author’s note at the end explains the story is based on real life; Flett also provides “some words from the story that you can learn how to say in Cree” — including “nitôsis,” the Cree word for “my aunt.”