Puss in Boots

This classic tale weaves a story of unlikely companionship between a cat and the son of a miller. When the miller dies, he leaves to his youngest son his cat. Understandably, the son is a bit disappointed that he didn’t inherit anything of value. Little did he know that his new friend was incredibly clever. By using his wit, the cat lands the miller’s son land, wheat, a castle, and finally, a beautiful princess to share it all with.

Personal reaction:
I tend to forget just how gory classic tales can be. Throughout the story, there was much hunting, eating, and threatening to eat people. I enjoyed how clever Puss is. Honestly, the Puss in Boots I am most familiar with is from Shrek. This version is very refreshing.

Classroom show more extension:
1. The book has many unfamiliar terms to most elementary students. In order to understand the story, the students must be familiar with vocabulary words like ogre, miller, and harvest. I will create a word/meaning matchup sheet for the students to do.
2. During art, give students recycled materials to build their own castle. show less

Step inside this lovely illustrated book and meet Puss In Boots, the socipathic cat who is rather conniving, consistently a user of people and a regal stager of situations.

His dastardly deeds of presenting gifts to the majesty in the name of his supposed master, The Marquis of Carabas, nets him and his master great wealth.

Lying, stealing and deceiving at every twist and turn, he becomes a hero. Ah, such is life!!!!

I don't care for the story line at all, but I do love the marvelous illustrations!

The success of this version of Perrault's well-known tale is due primarily to the caliber of artist Fred Marcellino's work. Filled with light and muted colors, illustrations vary in layout between double-page spreads captioned with text to full-page and partial-page panels: every page has something for listeners to see. This is important given the length of the text, itself displayed in an unintimidating, enlarged muted-brown font, framed in a thin-line border. Those unfamiliar with the fairytale will marvel at Puss's clever plan to elevate his master, especially when he outwits a not-too-scary-looking ogre. This Caldecott-honor book is a worthy addition to any K-3 classroom or home library.

Puss in Boots is a 25th century tale, retold here with new, beautiful illustrations. The style is very 'fairy tale' to me, with a softer light and influences from french art. The mischievous cat for me, however, is not a character who is playful or a 'Lord of Misrule'. I see him a deceitful, and borderline cruel. Perhaps it is this narrative adaptation, but the ogre is much less aggressive in this version, even a good host to a sneaky cat. It also annoys me that me youngest son does absolutely nothing the whole time. I've read too many retellings where this is not the case, and my favorite versions are one's where the youngest son becomes the youngest daughter. The illustrations do make up for some of it.

Puss in Boots follows the story of a cat that uses deception and threats to gain wealth and power for his master. First, Puss in Boots presents the King with animals that he has hunted on the behalf of his master, whom he fictionally names the Marquis of Carabas. From then on, Puss gets his master in the King’s carriage, new clothes, an ogre’s castle, and fields full of peasants. In the end, the King is so impressed with Puss’s master that he offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to the fictitious Marquis of Carabas. I did not really like Puss in Boots. In fact, I found Puss’s ruthlessness to be a little unsettling – he is a bit of a psychopath. Other than that, I found the story to be lacklustre and it failed to keep my show more attention. show less

A chuckled through my re-read of this book because of the violence and sneaky dealing of this original retelling. Awesome illustrations.

"Puss In Boots" by Charles Perrault is a very creative tale about a young man who was the son of a miller. When the miller died his son is left with just a cat. The miller's son was scared to be left with just a cat. How would he earn any money? The cat then began to talk and was determined to earn his worth. With just a pair of boots, this cat turned a old miller's son into a king. The theme of "Puss in Boots" is very important to teach to children. It is life is what you make it. The small cat turned life around for him and his master by just using his wit. If he can do that , you can do anything.The book is written at a 3rd grade level, but it is enjoyable for all grade levels.