From Publishers Weekly
In this sophisticated picture book debut by novelist Lively, a cat and a crow pass the time by telling stories beneath the capacious banyan tree. Not just any stories, these tales come alive as they are unfolded. The cat, who is "thin and quick," spins an "elegant and entertaining" adventure that transports her and the crow to the mountains of the moon "to find the end of the story." In contrast, the crow, "fat and handsome," tells a "fast and furious" tale full of chase and adventure, excitement and fear, wherein he and the cat sing for their lives in a ghost tunnel. Lively's narrative percolates with rhythm, inviting poetically-minded young readers to immerse themselves in the text and, perhaps, to look at storytelling in a fresh light. The well-matched artwork captures the essence of both tales and emphasizes the mysteries of the various settings. Milne combines a man-in-the-moon whimsicality with an eeriness that emphasizes both the fun and the spellbinding power of the imagination. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-A cat and a crow tell stories all day at their home under the banyan tree. Cat's stories are "elegant and entertaining," while Crow's are "fast and furious." Trouble is, the tales are so mysterious and quirky that they don't make much sense. In Cat's story, she and Crow climb stairs towards the moon. They hitch a ride on a shooting star to land on the highest mountain (the moon's nose). Eyes shut, they travel back to the banyan tree. In Crow's adventure, the two friends are being followed by "'Everyone! Anyone!'" They are chased by the hullabaloos and the glockenspiel, swoosh through a ghost tunnel, and fly past a snake gang. Back under the banyan tree, all of the imaginary creatures join the pair for an English tea party. Milne's illustrations, watercolors in green, black, yellow, and blue with lots of pen-and-ink details, embellish the whimsical text. Style and color choices are similar to Bobette McCarthy's work in Dreaming (Candlewick, 1994). Better fantasies abound. - Jacqueline Elsner, Athens Regional Library, GA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
