Nonny Hogrogian (1932–2024)

One Fine Day written and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian had an old-school feel to it (which probably stands to reason, considering it was published in the early 70’s). The story is about a fox who steals a few laps of milk from an old woman in order to quench his thirst. He is promptly punished for his theft, and the only way the old woman will sew his tail back on is if he reimburses the milk he stole from her. That proves to be difficult, as the cow that can help him will only do so if show more he brings her some grass. Then the field says the fox may have some grass if he brings it water. This continues throughout the story for each character the fox encounters. The text reminded me of the old children’s song “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly", in the sense that the mini-quests the fox embarks on are repeated to everyone he encounters. show less

It is a tall tale with fantasy about a greedy fox who drinks the milk of a lady and the lady cuts his tail. To get his tail back the fox has to do many things. The book and the pictures go along together well. It has rhythm and it is easy for listeners to follow and read along. The illustrator used acrylic paint and ink to come up with the pictures. You can tell he used a sponge and other tools to make designs with the acrylic paint. This is one of my favorite books and it was my first time show more reading it in English. show less

A fox steals some milk, and a woman cuts off his tail and refuses to sew it back on until he gives her back her milk. So the fox sets off to ask a cow for milk, but the cow wants something in exchange....

"Cool Cat" is a cute wordless book that features a black-and-white cat.

At first, when the story begins all we get to see is a peek of his/her black back, ears, and tail hiding behind some rocks. The colors at this point are subtle: a soothing, muted palette of browns and gray/blacks that remind me of some classic Japanese art that includes cats. Everything looks serene, but soon we see that it's not. The landscape is littered with rubbish.

It's then you notice that the cat has a wooden box show more filled with something that's not exactly quite identifiable. Soon enough though you see that there are tubes of paint and brushes; which soon the cat is using to alter his reality. Kitty starts in one corner with some lovely green leaves. Next he uses a rag a begin to mix blue and white to make a cheerful sky.

He works alone until a mouse and bunny join him. Their works continues until their work transforms their world into a park-like setting with a pond, wild roses and butterflies.

Talking Points
Nonny Hogrogian's artwork is cheerful and kid-friendly. The pictures shows a magical transformation of the animals' environment as they paint over the muted shades of rocks and soil to create a vibrantly green and blue world.

What message you take from "Cool Cat" will have to be of your own making as the book is wordless. You could say that the book demonstrates the positive theme that one person has the power to change the world-- if only they start. Or you could tie this book into an environmental study unit and say that joined together a community can made vast improvements. Or finally, you could just let the magically images remain voiceless.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews show less