The Asian Reporter's
BOOK REVIEWS

By Yangsook Choi

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999

Hardcover, 32 pages, $16.00

By Josephine Bridges

New Cat lived in a tofu factory in the Bronx in New York City." So begins this delightful tale of fortuitous heroism. Adopted from an animal shelter by factory owner Mr. Kim, "who had needed a friend as much as she had," New Cat has multiple responsibilities. "It was her job to hold down the paper while Mr. Kim was writing, clean the computer monitor with her tail, and taste the tofu for Mr. Kim when he put it in her bowl. But her most important job was to keep mice out of the factory."

New Cat is very serious about her work. When she sees a mouse in the production room, she must make a difficult decision. "She wasn’t supposed to go in there, but she also knew that the mouse was up to no good." Fortunately, she chooses to pursue the mouse. When a fire breaks out, New Cat is there to — inadvertently — save the day.

Yangsook Choi is a wonderful storyteller and an astonishing illustrator. Her writing is simple and enthralling, and her bold, quirky illustrations stir the imagination. Picture books may abound with illustrations of cats and mice, but Yangsook Choi’s arresting depiction is like nothing I have ever seen. Even the type in which New Cat is set is both easy to read and interesting. The five- to eight-year-olds at whom this book is directed will want to read it again and again. Why wouldn’t they? It’s flawless.