When the Cat’s Away

Description

When The Cat’s Away, a picture book for young children, is set in Paris. A family of mice move into their new home beneath the Café des Chats. Gussie and her twin brother, Pierre, are keen to explore their new surroundings. It is not long before Pierre’s nose for adventure puts his life at risk and takes them far away. It takes some luck and all of Gussie’s bravery and ingenuity to stage his rescue. Their triumphant journey through the streets of Paris back to their home almost comes unstuck. And then at the very last minute they realise they have another problem – the resident cat is not quite as far away as they had hoped!

Age range: From 3 to 6. Read alone 5 to 7.

Available as a print book from: Book Depository in the U.K (free postage);  Amazon.com; The MoshShop; Novella Fine Books, Wahroonga
Available as an ebook from Smashwords, who distribute the ebook to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Oyster and their other online partners.
Read an interview with Aimee Ann: Donna Gibbs, Spotlight Author

Review by Allison Paterson:

Gussie and her well-to-do family have arrived at their new home, a charming and comfortable mouse house at Le Café des Chats in Paris. Both her twin brother Pierre and Gussie are eager to explore their new surroundings, but not before Papa Mouse reminds them of the dangers that could be about. Soon enough, Pierre falls victim to the broom of a waiter and is catapulted onto a delivery van distributing baguettes throughout the city. Gussie rescues her brother but they are now far from their new home and must find their way back. Gussie leads the way, but danger is ever-present.

The narrow escapes of the mice as they trek the unfamiliar streets of Paris add a humorous touch to the tale, as does the final illustration. Just when Mama and Papa decide they will be quite safe living in their new home another danger is lurking just beyond the mouse hole.

With the delightful sites of Paris and its cuisine, combined with French words and phrases, When the Cat’s Away provides an opportunity to share both the culture and the experience of losing one’s way in Paris (yep, been there, done that …). The feeling of being lost could also be familiar to the reader and worthy of further discussion. The illustrations are varied in layout, capture the tone of the city and enhance the tale. An enjoyable read to share with children of the early childhood years.

Review by Bill La:

The delight begins on the book’s cover: not just fish on the slate outside the merchant’s shop in Paris, but frogs! Two mice are strolling along the footpath; one is whistling; their eyes are bulging. We are down there with them, at their level, in a world where the shop’s doorway is huge and the fish are as big as they are: the human world. They seem afraid. And a slosh of cheese-coloured paint reaching for them compels the reader to get to the story.

Danger is ever-present. The mice on the cover are Gussie and Pierre, the children of pearled and buttoned parents who warn them at the dinner table about the risks of adventuring in a neighbourhood where they are new. We are soon following the mice out of their home in the wall to beneath a dining table, where humans are eating. The huge sandals of a young girl dangle overhead; she is dropping pieces of cheese on the floor. Before we know it, the girl is standing on her chair and the waiter has grabbed Pierre and flung him out the window.
We share Gussie’s anxiety as she looks for Pierre, then that of the two mice as they try to find their way home again in an unknown place. This feeling is exacerbated in the reader due to Paris’s being perhaps unfamiliar to them, too. The sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures that confront the fugitive mice create moments of great fun and lots of things to discuss while reading. Do the mice get home? And what is the big danger that they meet in the end? I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Five stars.