Satoshi Kitamura

When a witch climbs into his bedroom late one night and curses him, Nicholas wakes up the next morning in his cat Leonardo's body. Life as a cat seems simple at first, full of naps and jumping, but after getting into some tussles with the neighborhood animals, Nicholas discovers that "Life was as tough and complicated as it was for humans." Things get even worse when Leonardo, in his human body, returns home from school and acts strangely, scaring his mother. Fortunately, the witch visits show more again that night...

Although author/artist Satoshi Kitamura is Japanese, many of his picture-books appear to have been published first in the UK, where he lived for many years. That is the case with Me and My Cat?, which pairs a hilarious story with entertaining illustrations. I loved the matter-of-fact way the witch climbs in and out of Nicholas' bedroom window, cursing and uncursing. I enjoyed the story itself, with its body-switch plot-line, and I laughed aloud at the surprise ending, when we discover just who the witch's real target was meant to be. Recommended to fans of Kitamura, and to anyone looking for fun, funny and fantastical stories for the picture-book set. show less

Kitamura, S. (1989). UFO Diary. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux

0374380260

Appetizer: An alien shares his story (a diary entry?) of how he/she/it took a wrong turn and landed on Earth where he/she/it made a new friend.

I put the diary entry part as a question above because there is no actual mention (or showing) of a diary throughout the story. Instead, this is a first person account in an alien's childlike voice. This makes me wonder if Kitamura and the publisher had trouble picking a name for show more the book.

I liked the illustrations of this book. The dark blues that capture space are beautiful. The faces the human boy makes when he sees the narrator are humorous and cute (although, the boy is so pale, he looks kinda like a particularly expressive zombie).

The strengths of these illustrations is how completely they're given from the perspective of the alien. The visitor's body is never shown and the reader is always seeing from his/her/its perspective so they can see the familiar world in a new light.

The final illustration--I won't give away what it is of--reminded me strongly of one of the sketches in de Saint-Exupery's classic, The Little Prince. I'd be willing to bet money this was done intentionally. Let's say, two dollars, maybe? (I never said I'd bet a lot of money.)

Dinner Conversation:

"On Monday, I took a wrong turn in the Milky Way."

"There in front of me was a strange blue planet, bright as a glass ball."

"...until I saw a creature. It stared at me as I landed."

"What an odd-looking thing!
It spoke and I could not understand'
but I smiled. It smiled back.
Then I knew he was going to be my friend."

To Go with the Meal:

This book presents a fun perspective. It shares the relatable tensions of going to a new place and wanting to make friends (even when the potential friends don't speak the same language).

Since a white bunny and several other animals are shown in a number of the illustrations, students can seek out and find the bunny.

Also, after having read (or heard aloud) this book, kids could write their own diary entries from the perspective of someone or something that has had different experiences from their own. To help present an activity like this one, a teacher could also share some of Doreen Cronin's picturebooks, including Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, Diary of a Fly, and on and on.

Tasty Rating: !!! show less

I enjoyed this book immensely, especially as a cat owner myself. What I liked best about this book was the plot. It depicted a boy, Nicholas, switching bodies with his cat after being cursed by a witch. It did a great job of introducing the subject of perspective, with an interesting twist. Nicholas got to see what it was like to be a cat, and realized how different it really was. For example, although he liked the neighbors dog, Bernard, he found that Bernard didn’t like him very much show more when he was a cat. I also thought the illustrations were interesting. They were “anime style,” which was something I’d never really seen in a non- anime book. It really made me think what other books I’ve read would look like if they were illustrated “anime style.” I think the big idea of this book was the importance of understanding the perspective of others. Usually, this message is brought about by humans switching bodies with each other, so I thought the idea of Nicholas switching bodies with his cat was a unique way to address the idea of perspective. show less

Pot-San the teapot and his various tabletop friends - Teacup, Spoon, Miss Salt, and others - enjoy a variety of adventures in the four short stories contained in this picture-book. In The New Teacup, our hero's worries about the newcomer to the table prove unfounded, while in The Flying Saucer, Pot-San's dream about a UFO is mirrored by the arrival at the table of Cheese Cake. The Flying Tray sees the table companions embarking on a dangerous game involving flight, while Miss Salt explores show more the arrival of another newcomer in the group...

Although author/illustrator Satoshi Kitamura is Japanese, and currently lives in Japan, it seems that many of his picture-books were first published in the UK, where he lived for many years. Pot-San's Tabletop Tales falls into that category, and was released by the London-based Andersen Press in 2012. The stories here have a gentle, quirky sense of humor, and will appeal to young children who enjoy tales about the adventures of anthropomorphic objects - think nursery rhymes about spoons, and so on. The watercolor artwork captures the humor of the text, and has an amusing, cartoon-like style that is very appealing. show less