Brendan Wenzel

Described on the dust-jacket flap as a companion to author/illustrator Brendan Wenzel's Caldecott Honor-winning They All Saw a Cat, this new picture-book also explores perspective. Centering around the eponymous stone, the narrative here explores the stone's existence - the many uses it serves to various creatures in the wild, and the various positions it holds, depending upon the size and outlook of the being examining it. In the end, the stone sits and endures, while everything around it show more changes...

The third picture-book that Wenzel has both written and illustrated, and the eighth he has worked on overall, A Stone Sat Still pairs a simple but thought-provoking text that emphasizes the stone's many roles in the world it inhabits with gorgeous multi-media artwork. I don't know that this one struck me quite as strongly as They All Saw a Cat, but there was something about it - perhaps a feeling of quietude, similar to what one feels when sitting still, out in the natural world? - that makes it very appealing. Recommended to fellow fans of Brendan Wenzel, and to anyone looking for lovely new picture-books about perspective and/or nature. show less

They All Saw a Cat - Brendan Wenzel  Cool book. Nice use of art to show different perspectives juxtaposed with a repetitive, rhythmic text. The sort of book that can make repeated re-reads a delight. It lends itself to open speculation on the nature of seeing and the nature of depiction. It also makes me want to set loose a whole classroom in the art supplies to see how many different styles of cat they can come up with.. I'm going to follow this cat into a metaphysical/artistic  rabbit show more hole: don't wait up for me.
 
Library copy show less

"The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears and paws," the narrator of this lovely picture-book tells us at the opening of the story, going on to detail the many different creatures who in turn see the cat. Each observer - a child, a dog, a fox, a goldfish, a mouse, a bee, a bird, a flea, a snake, a skunk, a worm, and a bat - sees the cat differently, something highlighted in the artwork. They all see the cat, but how does the cat see itself...?

A wonderful book, one which show more emphasizes how differing experiences result in different perspectives, and how differing physical realities influence the different ways we see, They All Saw a Cat is as beautiful as it is thoughtful. Brendan Wenzel, whose artwork in Some Bugs and Some Pets was so immensely engaging, creates a slightly less busy book here, visually speaking, but one that still has artistic appeal. I really liked the different ways he depicted the cat, in order to reflect the differing perspectives of the various creatures. The two-page spread from the mouse's perspective, in which the cat is a ferocious black monster on a red background, was particularly well done. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories that teach about perception and how it differs from individual to individual, as well as to fans of Brendan Wenzel's artwork. show less

Here is the opposite of a board book that is phoning it in: Brendan Wenzel presents unusual animals pretzeled into expected and unexpected shapes: tree frogs in a triangle, a rectangle of reptiles, penguins in a pentagon. Back matter (in a board book!!) includes a note from the author, and a thumbnail picture of the animals in order of appearance, along with their names (serval, big-headed turtle, etc.) and an indication of their status (threatened, endangered, etc.). Endlessly fascinating show more for littles and adults alike. show less