Elspeth Lorraine

Surprise! It’s a cat book! Hmmm… maybe not a huge surprise. Ok, how about… Surprise! It’s my first bilingual cat book! Better. “Under the canopy of trees in the deep, dark forest, there exists a community of cats.” Eeek! What a great start. I wish I was there right now. Luna is a black cat living with other cats who don’t accept her because of the color of her fur. They tell her she is bad luck and shoo her away to play with her friend Toad. Luckily, she adores Toad and he encourages her to leave and find her forever (furever. I had to.) home. She and Toad are scared off from the village they visit and decide to hide out and recover from the mean people they encountered there. While they sleep the moon rises and Luna’s magic appears! (She’s magical! Yay!) She has wings! And a sparkly coat! Toad hops on her back and they fly to a new town, finding their forever home. 

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Bits and Pieces: Heidi’s website says her work is done traditionally using watercolors, gouache paint and colored pencils. All I know is they are hecka awesome! Cats and magic and black cats and toads and sparkles Oh My! Heidi gets it. All of these things bring joy and in a picture book? Yes, please! There is kind of a spooky vibe here and I like it. Cats are kind of inherently spooky especially at night while they watch you sleep and maybe try and choke you a little bit. That could just be my own personal experience.

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Not Sure About: Spoiler!!! Did … Luna …die … at the end? I’m not sure. I’m going to say no. Because I don’t want that to be the case. But… maybe? 

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Favorite Part: I have always wanted a black cat. But also any cat. My friend has a tuxedo cat named Lucy and she screams all day and is shaped like a bowling ball and she is just the freaking best. That doesn’t have anything to do with this book, I just assumed you would want that mental image. You’re welcome. Get this book!