The Wall Street Journal-20080126-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Books- Children-s Books
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Books: Children's Books
A Kitten Tale
By Eric Rohmann
Knopf, 27 pages, $15.99
"Once there were four kittens who had never heard of snow," begins this delightful picture book for small children. Eric Rohmann's delicately colored illustrations first show three kittens looking up uneasily at a fourth who has inserted himself deep into a mailbox. Only his hindquarters are poking out, and envelopes are cascading down. Children love such saucy images and right away will enjoy the dynamic that drives the book. For, of course, one kitten is an adventurer who embraces the new; the other three are cautious and apprehensive. When the kittens see that several dislodged pieces of mail are postcards featuring winter scenes, they react in character: "Snow scares me! When winter comes, the snow will fall and fall and we'll be cold!" says the first. The second and third agree: "Cold to the tips of our tails!" But the fourth kitten says: "I can't wait." And so a rhythm is established: As the seasons pass, three kittens fret about the coming snow; the fourth looks forward to it. Then the day arrives when the world outside is blanketed with thick white drifts. The three kittens hide beneath carpets and furniture with just their tails sticking out, while the fourth scrambles through a cat flap in the door. From the safety of indoors, we see him frisking about: "He jumped and rolled and laughed. 'Snow! It's cold and wet and covers everything!'" In a beautiful tableau, the worriers at the window exchange shy smiles. "We'll be right out!" they decide. The final pages show the four romping and batting joyfully at snowflakes and the words: "I can't wait!"
