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Teaser and the Firecat
This extremely rare 36-page children's paperback book by the musician formerly known as Cat Stevens (he changed his name to Yusef Islam) is written in English, French and Spanish. The book sends Teaser and his clumsy friend Firecat on a journey to put the moon back in the sky.
38 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 9, 2020
I first saw this book when a college boyfriend showed it to me back in 1987. I hadn't previously known it existed. I had been a true-blue Cat Stevens fan since 1985, when I first saw the movie "Harold and Maude," and fell in love with both movie and soundtrack. I'd grown up listening to his music in the 1970s, and while I'd liked his music as a child, and it had touched me in certain ways, I hadn't paid a huge amount of attention to it during my adolescence. Between 1985 and 1990, though, Stevens' 1971 LP, "Teaser and the Firecat," would become the soundtrack to my life as I studied at university, both in the U.S. and in Europe. Given my new-found fandom, I was absolutely enthralled by the book when I first saw it in 1987. Unfortunately, both boyfriend and book soon exited my life, never to be seen again...
Fast-forward to 2015, when I was lucky enough to find a well-worn but inexpensive copy of this very rare book on Amazon. I read it cover to cover the moment it arrived, which wasn't hard, given that it'a only 36 pages long, and most of those pages contain a sentence or two at most. It's really a childrens' story, at least in this format, but the fact that all of the illustrations were also done by the author, who loved art growing up as a boy in 1960s London, make it all the more interesting. The French and Spanish subtitles are a nice additional nod to diversity and cross-cultural understanding, which is, it seems, one of the central themes of Stevens' life. The story itself is about how the moon fell out of the sky one night, and Stevens' fictional (?) character Teaser, along with his somewhat clumsy red cat, Firecat, endeavour to put it back up in the sky where it belongs.
For most non-Cat Stevens and Yusuf fans, this will be a cute childrens' book, and nothing more. But to his fans, it is not just a testament to his unbridled creativity, it may also be a look into his soul. A friend of mine has since told me that the song "Moonshadow" - the animated video for which features part of this story - was about Stevens being followed by a UFO. Several of his songs document that he believed himself to be the victim of an alien abduction. So this book gives the devoted fan even more to think about when pondering Stevens' tumultuous early life - which included not only alien abduction, but near-death from tuberculosis and drowning, and the feeling that he was being bought and sold like a slave in the music industry - and his decision to seek refuge in the order he eventually found in Islam.
For a devoted fan, this is a priceless addition to your collection. Anyone else will probably think it a cute childrens' story, and little more. I give it only 4 stars for two reasons: first, it's just SO short. You can feel yourself nearing the end before you're even halfway through (based on physical book size, not on the storyline itself). Second, there is a video available on YouTube which contains this entire storyline, and the animation is even more amazing than this illustrated book. If you search for "Cat Stevens Moonshadow animated video," you should be able to find it with a minimum of futher searching (the animated video for "Moonshadow" is a portion cut from the middle of the short film). THAT animated short is truly a masterpiece, and perhaps I feel a bit resentful that this book doesn't contain more of what is in the short film. On the other hand, I suppose I should consider myself lucky that this rare animated video is now so easily available for all to see - something Stevens could never have foreseen when he released it in 1977! Nevertheless, if you're a hardcore Cat Stevens fan, the book and video combination will bring you great joy as you take a journey inside of young Steve's creative mind, and wonder what factors led him to write the song and create the accompanying book and short film. Clearly, it was something that had a great impact on him, in order for him to flesh it out so fully.
If you're a hardcore fan, and you can find a copy within your price range, snap it up. Otherwise, search out the animated short on YouTube, and that will probably be enough.
Fast-forward to 2015, when I was lucky enough to find a well-worn but inexpensive copy of this very rare book on Amazon. I read it cover to cover the moment it arrived, which wasn't hard, given that it'a only 36 pages long, and most of those pages contain a sentence or two at most. It's really a childrens' story, at least in this format, but the fact that all of the illustrations were also done by the author, who loved art growing up as a boy in 1960s London, make it all the more interesting. The French and Spanish subtitles are a nice additional nod to diversity and cross-cultural understanding, which is, it seems, one of the central themes of Stevens' life. The story itself is about how the moon fell out of the sky one night, and Stevens' fictional (?) character Teaser, along with his somewhat clumsy red cat, Firecat, endeavour to put it back up in the sky where it belongs.
For most non-Cat Stevens and Yusuf fans, this will be a cute childrens' book, and nothing more. But to his fans, it is not just a testament to his unbridled creativity, it may also be a look into his soul. A friend of mine has since told me that the song "Moonshadow" - the animated video for which features part of this story - was about Stevens being followed by a UFO. Several of his songs document that he believed himself to be the victim of an alien abduction. So this book gives the devoted fan even more to think about when pondering Stevens' tumultuous early life - which included not only alien abduction, but near-death from tuberculosis and drowning, and the feeling that he was being bought and sold like a slave in the music industry - and his decision to seek refuge in the order he eventually found in Islam.
For a devoted fan, this is a priceless addition to your collection. Anyone else will probably think it a cute childrens' story, and little more. I give it only 4 stars for two reasons: first, it's just SO short. You can feel yourself nearing the end before you're even halfway through (based on physical book size, not on the storyline itself). Second, there is a video available on YouTube which contains this entire storyline, and the animation is even more amazing than this illustrated book. If you search for "Cat Stevens Moonshadow animated video," you should be able to find it with a minimum of futher searching (the animated video for "Moonshadow" is a portion cut from the middle of the short film). THAT animated short is truly a masterpiece, and perhaps I feel a bit resentful that this book doesn't contain more of what is in the short film. On the other hand, I suppose I should consider myself lucky that this rare animated video is now so easily available for all to see - something Stevens could never have foreseen when he released it in 1977! Nevertheless, if you're a hardcore Cat Stevens fan, the book and video combination will bring you great joy as you take a journey inside of young Steve's creative mind, and wonder what factors led him to write the song and create the accompanying book and short film. Clearly, it was something that had a great impact on him, in order for him to flesh it out so fully.
If you're a hardcore fan, and you can find a copy within your price range, snap it up. Otherwise, search out the animated short on YouTube, and that will probably be enough.
January 19, 2017
I'm sorry I gave away my childhood copy of this. This book did not survive my "I WILL ONLY have horse books" purge when I was a kid. This was one of those books I got lost in when I was little.I remember my copy as having a black-bordered cover rather than the bright one presented here at Goodreads (and all of those shown in a Google Image search done 1/18/2017. Oh dear -- perhaps my memory is going bye-byes).
March 24, 2009
Based on Stevens’ 1971 album of the same name, I was delighted to find this children’s book illustrated by the author/musician. Teaser and his friend Firecat go on a journey to put the moon back in the sky.
March 17, 2007
When I was young I didn't even know about the album.
February 25, 2009
Love all the songs on this album, and nothing complicated about the music scores either. 'I let my music take me where my heart wants to go.' Right on Yousef.
September 30, 2022
An adorable bit of whimsy from one of my favorite musicians. The illustrations are pretty basic, yet their juvenile scrawl has a universal appeal. Love the Sharpie edges, the purple river, the helpful red owls, the van Gogh evening, etc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews