I was thrilled to find a children’s book by Ursula K. LeGuin, a scifi writer whose accomplishments include three books nominated for Pulitzer Prizes. Surely, I thought, this would be children’s writing taken to a new level.
It turns out that Cat Dreams is a pleasant little work, but not amazing. The story involves a cat who plays hard, takes a nap, dreams crazy kitty dreams, and ends up sleeping peacefully on the lap of her favorite human. The dreams themselves are quite imaginative and amusing, and the text is simple enough for early readers.
The best part is the illustrations, by far. Illustrator S.D. Schindler does a wonderful job of capturing the fluid movement and boneless posture of a cat, and the scenes are tender without being overly sweet.
A nice read for children who have a lap-cat of their own.
Available on Amazon.com
Cat Dreams by Ursula K. LeGuin, illustrated by S.D. Schindler. Orchard Books, 2009
