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Summary
Summary
Three hungry cats. One little penguin. The odds don't look good.
With bare cupboards and hungry bellies, three cats steal a penguin to catch them fish. A hilarious sequence of events unfolds as the penguin makes his escape, gets mistaken for a nun and a waiter, then finds his way safely home. Meanwhile, the cats are caught for their crime and sent to jail -- for a lifetime of gruel. Deftly told and beautifully illustrated by exciting debut author-illustrator Helen Hancocks.
Author Notes
Helen Hancocks graduated in 2011 with a degree in illustration and animation from Manchester School of Art. She uses a mixture of crayon, watercolor, ink, and pen, combined digitally. Her work often features cats. Helen Hancocks lives in Lincoln, England.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Faced with empty cupboards, three hungry cats scour their home until they find three gold coins. On the way to the supermarket, they are distracted by a movie marquee advertising The Fishy Feast. The cats quickly hand over their coins and go inside. Hungrier than ever when it's over, the felines draw inspiration from the film and plan "the most brilliant robbery of all time." After stealing into the zoo under cover of darkness and abducting a penguin, they try to explain their plan, only to be undone by their lack of linguistic ability-they don't speak penguin! No matter, they set off on a fishing trip, with the penguin an integral part of the endeavor. Sensing danger, he escapes and manages to elude the kidnappers when they mistake him for a nun and a waiter. A helpful blue bird shows him a secret way back into the zoo and tells the police about the felonious cats. (The clever bird must be trilingual.) Penguin arrives home none the worse for wear and just in time for a fishy feast of his own. The cats are jailed and sentenced to eat "gruel for life." Although the text is sometimes difficult to read on pages with dark gray backgrounds, this quirky tale has clever, foreshadowing illustrations that attentive readers will eat right up. The holes in the storytelling are secondary to the sophisticated vocabulary and curiosity about the outcome of the cats' goofy plan.-Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A bicycle built for three and a secret subterranean tunnel system are just two of the treats thrown into this madcap adventure by first-time British author/illustrator Hancocks. Three hungry cats snare a penguin from the local zoo, scheming to have it catch fish for them. But the penguin escapes, and although the cats give chase through a crowded city, it eludes them, camouflaging itself in a handy group of nuns and darting into the kitchen of a high-end restaurant. Hancocks's artwork is first cousin to Maira Kalman's, a series of cheerful gouaches in which grown-up metropolitan civilization is depicted with childlike charm. Cheeky humor crowds the pages; in the restaurant, the penguin joins a procession of formally dressed waiters into the dining room, holding the skeleton of the fish he's just downed like a trophy. Penguin fans will sigh with relief as a little bird reveals the underground tunnels: "Luckily, she knew a secret way into the zoo." The cats' punishment seems too harsh for the crime-gruel for life behind bars!-but perhaps a sequel will let them stage a jailbreak. Ages 3-7. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
For a fish-catching scheme, three hungry cats steal a penguin from a zoo. He makes a break for it and, thanks to a little bird, ultimately reaches safety. Readers expecting a plot twist will be disappointed: the story's cleverness is restricted to the urbane illustrations, particularly one displaying the underground network of pipes that connect a public fountain with the city zoo. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
It is a truth universally acknowledged that cats in possession of a penguin must be in want of fish. In this sprightly author-illustrator debut, three hungry red cats are inspired by a movie about fish-hunting penguins to steal one from the zoo and put it to work for them. As the cat burglars bike through the city with the penguin in a box on their bicycle rack, "[t]he penguin began to sense that he was in peril." As luck would have it, the brave bird breaks free and lands among a flock of nuns, blending right in with their black-and-white habits. The cats don't spot the penguin on the subway escalator behind the bowler-hatted man or in the restaurant (he looks like the tuxedo-sporting waiters), and so he makes his way back to the zoo "[j]ust in time for a fishy feast!" Justice is served with the help of a little bird who tips off the police: The cat gang is sent to jail for a lifetime of gruel. Graphic shapes in pencil and bold gouache colors not only make for striking compositions, they suggest humor in the simplest of ways. Clever details abound, like the underground map of the penguin's escape via subway and the animals' image-only dialogue bubbles. The penguin in peril prevails in this fresh and funny English import. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Three cats, three coins, and no food. What are the tabbies to do? The orange threesome come up with a brilliant idea: they will find a penguin to catch fish for their supper! After a daring robbery of the tuxedoed bird from the local zoo, the trio is off to the ocean on their bike with their kidnapped hostage. Sensing peril, the seabird escapes as they cycle through town. The fun is finding the waddling penguin as he stays one step ahead of the felines, hiding amongst black-and-white nuns, riding the subway, and waiting on tables. At last, hurrah! He returns to his beloved home and friends at the zoo and devours a much-deserved fishy feast. And the cat gang? They end up in jail for life, forced to eat gruel thenceforward. The mixed-media pictures are delightfully comical but show serious graphic artistry as well. The design, with its panels and spreads, will keep young listeners and their readers on their toes. Score: penguin 1, cats 0.--Gepson, Lolly Copyright 2014 Booklist