A cat walks through the world. Along the way it greets a child and a mouse and fox and all kinds of other creatures. They all see the cat. It is as simple – and as complex – as that.
Brendan Wenzel’s work is always mind-blowing. A Stone Sat Still stands out among the picture books I have reviewed for its apparently simple language and abstract themes. They All Saw A Cat works along similar lines, with the text and the illustrations working together to challenge the reader to think more deeply about things that they take for granted. Does a cat look the way we see it? As this book demonstrates, animals all perceive the world in different ways.
A dog sees the cat as a nuisance, the mouse sees the cat as danger, and a fox sees the cat as prey (or certainly an easy target). Then the book goes deeper. A worm underground senses the cat through vibrations in the soil. Bats recognise the cat through echolocation. Wenzel’s wonderful illustrations invite the reader into the eye of other animals. The experience is something like the seeing an image of a garden imagined from the perspective of an insect. It is the world we know but not as we know it.
The text repeats phrases and keeps a steady rhythm. It is catchy in a way that endures and remains fresh over multiple readings. This truly is a lesson in less-is-more.
Like the very best of books this gives the reader pause for thought and remains in the mind long after the pages are closed. It instills a sense of wonder at how wonderful our planet is with all its different forms of life. A philosophical and beautiful picture book.
- They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel is available now from Chronicle Books. RRP. £6.99 (Received for review)
