Cool Cat

by Nonny Hogrogian

Cool Cat's neighborhood isn't so cool. It's barren and brown, littered with rusty cans and broken bottles. No problem. With an old paint box, a troop of helpful animals, and lots of imagination, Cool Cat turns the world around him into a Rousseau-style masterpiece. An enchanting story of resourcefulness and positive thinking, COOL CAT shows how working together can make miracles.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Art, Animals, Nature

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Nonny Hogrogian is an Armenian-American writer and illustrator, known best for children's picture books. She has won two annual Caldecott Medals for U.S. children's book illustrations. Since childhood she prefers folk and fairy tales, poetry, fantasy and stories.

Reviews

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼]

"Cool Cat" is a cute wordless book that features a black-and-white cat.

At first, when the story begins all we get to see is a peek of his/her black back, ears, and tail hiding behind some rocks. The colors at this point are subtle: a soothing, muted palette of browns and gray/blacks that remind me of some classic Japanese art that includes cats. Everything looks serene, but soon we see that it's not. The landscape is littered with rubbish.

It's then you notice that the cat has a wooden box filled with something that's not quite identifiable. Soon enough though you see that there are tubes of paint and brushes; which soon the cat is using to alter his reality. Kitty starts in one corner with some lovely green leaves. Next he uses a rag a begin to mix blue and white to make a cheerful sky.

He works alone until a mouse and bunny join him. Their works continues until their work transforms their world into a park-like setting with a pond, wild roses and butterflies.

Talking Points
Nonny Hogrogian's artwork is cheerful and kid-friendly. The pictures shows a magical transformation of the animals' environment as they paint over the muted shades of rocks and soil to create a vibrantly green and blue world.

What message you take from "Cool Cat" will have to be of your own making as the book is wordless. You could say that the book demonstrates the positive theme that one person has the power to change the world-- if only they start. Or you could tie this book into an environmental study unit and say that joined together a community can made vast improvements. Or finally, you could just let the magically images remain voiceless.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming book to be shared by adult and child, made all the more intriguing by Nonny Hogrogian's delicate illustrations. A cat and a paintbox result in an environment transformed, shared creative activities and a good old nap at the end. This book can be shared again and again, with lots to interest the curious and creative child.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The five year old didn't like that there were no words. (But I'm a sucker for wordless picture books!) But he kind of liked that they were painting a picture when they were inside the picture but maybe they made it so the picture was zoomed in and they were on top of the picture.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It is pictures only and I love this kind of book. By Maggie - age 8

[littlemiao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wordless book about a tuxedo kitty who transforms his bleak and uninviting world into somewhere beautiful and welcoming, with the help of paint and a group of creative critters. The art is sweet, and the story of cooperation and transformation is very nicely told through the actions of a cat.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful wordless picture book! It’s about a cat that lives in what seems to be a colorless junkyard. Together with his animal friends they paint it over into a lush green space with a blue sky, colorful pond with ducks and frogs and many colored birds. Metaphorically speaking we can all benefit from adding color to our world and this cute story teaches us this lesson.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great wordless book - cat is in brown, barren, littered surroundings, but he takes action and starts changing the scene with the help of little animal friends. Love all the little animals holding paintbrushes!

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning of book: a scene of little color and much trash. After the animals have reworked the scene it's a meadow filled with sweet-smelling, colorful flowers and butterflies, with a pond for the mallard, turtle and frog, and a blue sky for the birds.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

225/365

[IUS F19 Katelyn Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book that tells about keeping the environment clean in a fun way.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute wordless book.

[FloraTzu · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wordless picture book with a cat who is disappointed about his dull beige world. He, and many others, begin to color it in. While the illustrations are nice, I did not find it as engaging.

[Lillian Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was silly and cute, I really liked it because it was a picture book and they were painting it.

[Kylee Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cat lives a life in dirty conditions, but has a love for painting. So he had an idea, to paint his ideal surroundings. He painted green grass, blue skies, clear water, and other animals to stay with him. Through his painting, he was able to create the life he had always imagined. But that is how I comprehended it. This is a book with no words.

This book has no words! I think that this is a great way to teach students about comprehension through illustrations. Unlike this book, many books have words, but the illustrations usually help fill in missing spaces when comprehension of the words isn't present. Students can practice comprehension skills using this wordless picture book.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic wordless story that transforms a drab landscape into a vibrant, lovely place. We really enjoyed "reading" this story together and had fun both guessing what would happen next as well as what we saw on each page. The first pictures remind me of Japanese artwork with it's simple colors and stark images.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool Cat looks like our Buster Cat, so, of course, my little boy loved him right away. Cool Cat used paint, and talent, and the help of friends to turn a trashy desert wasteland into a beautiful oasis of a habitat for his friend and for himself, so, of course, I loved him by the end of the book.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I did not know this was a wordless picture book. I picked it up because it had "cat" in the title. I like the idea of having wordless picture books because the reader can make up the story as they go. I would use this in my classroom and have students write their own version of the story. If I could I would probably rate it more like 3.5-3.75.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cat in a barren, littered area starts painting to make it more beautiful. On each page a new animal appears who then helps with the painting. A simple wordless book accessible to the very young, but with a great message.

[MissInformation · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless and indeed cool. Cat opens a box of paint brushes and rags while playing in a junkyard. Cat paints some greenery, and uses a rag to wash the dirt off the sky and reveal blue. Other animals join in.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool Cat paints his barren and brown world, enhancing his surroundings with bright colours and animals that now enjoy a beautiful environment. Love the calm and colourful illustrations as we see the new things Cool Cat adds with each page.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful book! The pictures in this wordless book will please adults as well as the children who are the intended audience.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for narative skills

[Anselm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for no words.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Mikey pointed out, this is kind of a strange way for the cat to try to help the world, but it is also kind of cool. Although a weird book without any words.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

So pretty! In this wordless book a little black cat finds a box of paints and proceeds to paint himself a beautiful, colorful world with the help of some animal friends. Simple, but oh so sweet.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

wordless

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a prettily illustrated, wordless picture book. The cool cat and his animal friends use paints to beautify the world around them.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amzing book. The illustrations tell the story. This would be a book I would love to own someday.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool Cat is in a dirty, trash-filled dump until he finds some paint and friends to help transform the place into a colorful, blissful place. Cute book.

[Miss Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of childrens picture books with no words, but I don't understand the title. It doesn't fit with the book whatsoever.