"Inside Cat" by Brendan Wenzel (Chronicle Books, Oct. 12), ages 3-5, 40 pages, $17.99 hardback, $8.51 ebook.
Brendan Wenzel is known for his stellar picture books about point of view and perception. The vibrant "They All Saw a Cat" and the nuanced, melancholy "A Stone Sat Still" are celebrated for masterful illustrations. His fictions encourage readers to think about how what we know depends on where we are and what we are.
For most of this new book, a scribbly indoor cat confidently patrols a pale, somewhat bare, haphazard habitat. At first, the poverty of detail and bleak colors bothered me. I had expected the richness of "They All Saw" or the full-bleed scenery of "Stone." But pause to analyze pages and see the multimedia effects used cleverly.
And the sing-song narration invites kids to chime along as this inside pet finds a view and adventure wherever it goes. "Wanders. Wonders. Lingers. Laps." ... "Wanders. Wonders. Stares. Snacks." ... "Wanders. Wonders. Nibbles. Naps."
Notice how the cat names what it sees out the windows. Notice that it's wrong.
After the scribbled cat has seen an impressive assortment, we're convinced the world of an indoor pet is indeed interesting.
But that's not Wenzel's point.
On the final page, his sketchy cat steps outside though the front door and — oh! — here's the staggering complexity of a city arrayed across a double-page, full-bleed illustration. We see at once that, while indoors looked satisfying, outdoors is much bigger, more real, much more alive. It's as vivid as the transition from black-and-white Kansas to oversaturated Oz in the movie "The Wizard of Oz."
We live in a golden age of innovative picture books. Wenzel here plays with drawing style to open a philosophical argument. Is it fair to keep a cat indoors when indoors is a mere drawing compared to outdoors?
As a city-dweller whose fur babies can't safely go outside, sharing this book with my grandgirls would invite them to question whether my cats belong indoors. Scary, but I can handle that conversation, and it will help my point that Wenzel's indoor cat really looks overwhelmed outside. But will the girls agree?
Ultimately, an ability to think for themselves is what we want for children. Right?
Read to Me is a weekly review of short books for young people.
"Inside Cat" By Brendan Wenzel (Chronicle Books, Oct. 12), ages 3-5, 40 pages, $17.99 hardback, $8.51 ebook. Read to Me. (Chronicle Books)