Drawing on Lafcadio Hearn's collections of traditional Japanese tales, Hodges (St. George and the Dragon) succinctly recounts a legend of the early boyhood of 15th-century artist Sesshu Toyo. The boy, in training to be a priest, spends every spare moment covering the walls and screens of the temple with drawings of cats. His exasperated teacher turns him out with nothing more than the obscure advice, "Avoid large places at night: keep to small." Seeking refuge the following evening in an empty temple, the boy covers all the walls and screens there, too, with paintings of cats. He remembers his teacher's advice and conceals himself in a cabinet for the night. He wakes to the sound of a fearsome battle and, when the boy emerges in the morning, he finds a huge rat-goblin dead on the floor and the mouths of all his painted cats "red and wet with blood." His own creations have saved him. Sogabe's (The Hungriest Boy in the World) crisp paper cut-outs, often lined in black, stand out starkly against misty, dramatic landscapes; the winsome cats seem curiously ill-suited to their grisly chore. Haunting images and an unusual vision of the creative power of childhood make this a memorable tribute to a fine artist. Ages 5-8. (Mar.)
