Jamil's Clever Cat

The marriage of sparse, but quite challenging text, with a radiant mix of paints, pattern and mosaics makes that of the Bengali Princess with the humble weaver a rich experience. French's superb artwork begins with dazzling endpapers which would be a wonderful stimulus for art lessons. The well-known tale unfolds through the illustrations, the text inextricably woven into a wealth of colour. Sardul, the cat, is recognisably our Puss-in-Boots, but who ever saw a cut-out bestriped cat quite like this, 'leaping silently' or 'sauntering' from one startling spread to the next? This extraordinarily rich book is one to savour. It will enhance any Primary library, being a good example of genre, and engage interest across both Key Stages.