The Cat Painter

by Becky Bravo, Mark Ramsel N. Salvatus III (Illustrator), Aneka Rodriguez (Translator)

Cats come in three colors: black, white, and yellow- this is what Miral, chief cat painter, teaches all his students. All is well until Rajal, a playful painter, comes along. Find out why, since then, cats have never been the same.

Tatlo lamang ang kulay ng mga pusa: itim, puti, at dilaw—ito ang turo ni Miral, ang pinunong pintor ng mga puso, sa lahat ng kaniyang mga estudyante. Mabuti ang lahat hanggang dumating si Rajal, isang mapaglarong pintor. Alamin kung bakit, simula noon, ay naging iba na ang mga pusa.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Becky Bravo’s first foray into the children’s fiction genre began in 1996 during a short-lived attempt at a Masteral degree in Creative Writing. One of the first classes she took was an undergraduate course in children’s fiction, and it was for this class that she wrote her first actual children’s story entitled “Fetch”. On her first crack at joining the Palanca Memorial Awards in 1997, “Fetch” came away with the 2nd Prize for Children’s Fiction in English. She has participated in the contest every year since then, winning 1st Prize in 2000 for “Fish for Two”, and another in 2004 for The Cat Painter, both of which were later published as picture books. She became a member of KUTING in 2004

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will be reading and briefly reviewing several children's books in the next few days. This is not because I need to catch up with my 2013 Reading Challenge because I am still a little bit ahead with it. This is because our Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books book club will hold a storytelling sessions with less-fortunate children as our audience at Museo Pambata (Children's Museum) in May 2013. We will also serve the children some food and leave these books to them. So I need to know which books are good for storytelling for me to consider them in our poll.

This book, The Cat Painter won the First Prize, Short Story for Children in the 2004 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. That's the reason why I picked this one up from a bunch of children's book at NBS Bestsellers last Thursday.

Entertaining story?

Maybe for children.

Moral lesson?

Oh yes. It's about questioning the status quo.

Logic?

Oh no. Cats, and all the animals, are being painted by angels in heaven before they are sent to earth by God

Illustrations?

Colorful but a bit too crowded. I had a hard time distinguishing the two main characters from each other.

Overall:

Not really bad. My main concern is the logic. What I like children's books to have is for the children to learn the real world as much as possible without giving too many deviations by introducing implausible situations. It is like baby-talking to a child that will just encourage him or her not to talk straight as soon as possible.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the glittering chambers of heaven, the angels of God worked to paint the creatures of the Earth. Each creature was a single, unbroken shade, because that was how it had always been done. In the chamber of the angel Miral, whose work it was to paint the world's cats, the shades of black, white and yellow were used, leading to cats that were all black, all white, and all yellow. Then one day Miral was given an apprentice name Rahal, an unusual angel with a sparkle in his eye, a halo slightly askew, and lots of questions. Rahal wondered why the cats had to be a single color only, and why they had to be one of the three chosen shades. Accepting his master's answer that this was how it had always been done, Rahal carries on with his work, but the first time he is left on his own, he begins to paint cats in multiple colors, using all sorts of hues. But what will God say, when he sees these unusual creatures...?

Published in Quezon City, in the Philippines, The Cat Painter appears to have been written originally in Tagalog as "Ang Pinto ng Pusa," and then translated into English in this edition. The original text is included at the rear of the book, on the last two pages, while the bulk of the book contains the translation, a paragraph or so per two-page spread, paired with colorful, cartoon-like artwork. It isn't clear to me whether there is also an edition with just the Tagalog text, paired with the artwork. However that may be, this was a delightful little original pouquoi story, explaining how cats (and then other creatures) came to have such variegated coloring. I particularly enjoyed the scene in which God is amused by the colorfil kitties, who (naturally) climb all over him, and declares that he has been waiting for just such a change. The artwork here is colorful and cute, and well-suited to the tale, although there were times I found it too cartoonish for my taste. All in all, an appealing little book! It's more of an early reader than a picture-book, and the publisher recommends it for children ages eight through eleven. For my part, I recommend it to young cat lovers, readers who enjoy pouquoi stories, and anyone looking for Filipino children's books.

[Zai Muñoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of "The Cat Painter" is reminiscent of those beloved tales in "Hiraya Manawari," brimming with imagination and heartwarming lessons.
The "Cat Painter" beautifully captures the essence of childhood wonder, reminding us of the joy found in following our passions and embracing our unique gifts.

[Mark Anthony Salvador · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isa ito sa mga paborito kong kuwentong pambata. Ang linaw ng mga mensahe: makatuwirang kuwestiyunin ang nakasanayan, hindi monopolyo ng matatanda ang karunungan.

Ang ganda rin ng lunan ng kuwento. Nasa anyo ng alamat ang akda, nagpapaliwanag kung papaanong nagkaroon ng kulay ang mga hayop.

[Mariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vibrant art. Light storyline. Precious lesson re: creativity for kids and parents alike.
Tradition is well and good for keeping culture, and most of the time it has reasonable grounding. But to push the human bubble of knowledge to make it bigger, to make our lives better is a challenge that we must undertake, even if it means breaking a tradition that simply continues to exist because no one is challenging it.

[Sinohinmariellegmail.Com]

the japanese lantern

[Danica Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing