Saturday, January 10, 2015

Glamourpuss (2015)

Glamourpuss. Sarah Weeks. Illustrated by David Small. 2015. [January 2015] Scholastic. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Once upon a pillow sat a glamorous cat named Glamourpuss. Glamourpuss lived with Mr. and Mrs. Highhorsen in a giant amnion on the top of a hill where they were waited on hand and foot by a pair of devoted servants named Gustav and Rosalie.

I enjoyed reading Sarah Weeks' Glamourpuss. I thought it was a charming picture book about a fabulous cat who was sometimes selfish and sometimes sweet. Glamourpuss, the star of the book, does not like it when Eugenia and Bluebelle come to visit Mr. and Mrs. Highhorsen, her owners. She finds Bluebelle and her many costumes ridiculous. But to her surprise, all the adults seem to find Bluebelle precious and wonderful and even glamorous. Shocking! Can't they tell the difference between tacky and refined?! When Glamourpuss realizes that Bluebelle actually HATES wearing clothes and performing tricks, the two bond. Glamourpuss gives her real lessons on how to behave, how to take her bow-wow to WOW, just as Glamourpuss has taken her meow to ME.

I found the story cute and charming. But I think it was the illustrations that really persuaded me that this story was wonderful. I loved the many expressions of Glamourpuss. I did. David Small did a great job of capturing this cat's magnificent personality. I think some of my favorite illustrations were when she is teaching Bluebelle how to be more refined.

Definitely recommended for cat lovers!

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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