They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzell is a simple, elegantly constructed book of contrasts as shown through the variety of art styles and the various topics covered. Though the repetition and easy flow of a few words might not lead one to see the contrasting, yet complimentary topics at first, on a deeper look, they are easy to pick out. The art on each page helps highlight these differences in a visual manner.
Let’s start with the topics that are so cleverly buried in the simple, repetitive lines; topics such as perception, empathy, the senses. The narrative, and the art, start off with what we might expect to see when looking at a cat. The human child sees the cat as a cute, cuddly creature, but the pictures change subtly as the dog and the fox catch a glimpse of the feline. First, the cat changes to look like easier prey: thin and lanky for the dog, fat and frightened for the fox. But, the size of the bell the cat wears changes as well. It grows much larger than what was seen with the child’s view. This is a beautiful way to show that dogs and foxes have a stronger sense of hearing than sight. Thus, the bell’s importance is greater for them than for the human child.
Brilliant, right? It gets better
Wenzel shows the reader how the cat looks to creature’s who see the world differently than they do. The bee sees a huge creature all made of multi-colored dots. When the fish peers at the cat up through the water, all we see is big eyes staring down at the tiny little goldfish.
And the skunk’s world is all rendered in subtle tones of black and gray, like an old black and white photograph. This is an early exploration of the senses with a hint of science thrown in, allowing for that early exposure to the STEM topics that grow more important the older a child grows. It also helps awaken the curiosity of the physical world that a child naturally possesses.
But one of the best things in this book, is the view of perception and empathy. The child, as noted sees a friendly companion, a creature to cuddle and hug and pet. However, when the mouse sees the cat, the background is angry red and the cat is all teeth and claws and blazing eyes. For the prey, such as the mouse, the cat is not a pleasant friend, but a threat.
The shifts in the art styles – so many I’m not sure I could name them all – helps show the cat as he walks through the world. These dramatic shifts are made more dynamic by the simple, flowing prose, a narrative style that feels like a cat – simple graceful, and lands on solid feet with each new picture. The opening lines, “The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws . . .” awakens the sense of a cat stalking through room until it winds its way around the human’s leg on the next page for a pet. It’s effective, interesting, and set so simply and with such impact that kids will enjoy reading this book multiple times. It’s not hard to see why it won the Caldecott Medal in 2017.
Wenzel, Brendan. They All Saw a Cat. Chronicle Books, LLC, 2016. ISBN 9781452150130
Ramblings of Jhenry 