The Fish and the Cat

This tale by Canadian artist Dubuc (The Lion and the Bird) is in essence one long, wordless chase scene, but in her hands it acquires texture, drama, and imaginative power. In an empty room, a goldfish swims in a bowl, its red scales the only color on the black-and-white penciled spreads. A cat with a long, exaggerated nose dips its paw in the water. The goldfish darts away; after some tense evasions, it sprouts wings and flies out the window. The cat pursues the fish with an expression of goofy curiosity, while the fish looks harassed but stoic. The chase moves from tiled roofs through trees, then out into space—its darkness exquisitely cross-hatched in soft black pencil—and then back to earth again, until at last the fish finds a place that the cat can’t go. The slow-moving suspense casts a strange spell, and the way the fish breaks the rules of nature and gravity and still can’t get rid of its pesky pursuer gives the spreads humor. It’s a quiet victory for the weak over the strong, and even the youngest readers can follow it with pleasure. Ages 2–up. (Apr.)