The Magic Disappearing Cat: Monet's Cat by Lily Murray

MONET WAS A FAMOUS PAINTER WITH A MAGIC CAT. HER NAME WAS CHIKA.

Usually, Chika is a delicate white pottery cat, curled up on a cushion and sleeping silently. But on this day Monet is feeling playful, so he taps Chika three times with his magic paintbrush. Chika comes alive, eyes opening. . . .

SHE OPENED HER EYES AND S-S-SRETCHED! TIME FOR AN ADVENTURE!

But it was raining and wretchedly wet outside, so she wondered off down the hall, tail up!

Monet gave chase, wondering if she was looking for mischief. But now she was NOWHERE in sight, until...

MONET SPOTTED HER!

Chika is already inside the painting of an al fresco luncheon. Climbing nimbly into the picture frame, the rotund Monet recalls painting this scene, with two teacups on the table along with fruit and bread, and his little son Jean playing with his blocks, as Chika stealthily crawls out from under tablecloth, hopping atop the table to lap some milk and nibble a bit of baguette. Little Jean tries to catch her, but she leaps out of the painting, forcing poor chubby Monet to tumble out of the picture and onto the carpet. And before he can catch the runaway cat she's off and leaping into another picture.

Monet follows, to the loud clanking of metal, the CHOOOO! CHOOOOO! of...

THE STATION AT SAINT-LAZARE!

And there is Chika, zigzaging through the steam as the stationmaster blows his whistle..., and with the portly and now pooped Monet watching her pulling away from the station, framed by a window in the passenger car....

... Suddenly Monet is in one of his favorite paintings of his favorite place... the seaside. Mopping his brow, he sees Chika stalk and pounce on a seagull, so intent on her catch that he is able to capture her. The two rest for a moment and share an ice cream cone, when... with a blink they find themselves on a familiar bridge over their favorite pond...

". . . MY FAVORITE PLACE.... I COULD PAINT THE LILY POND FOREVER!..."

...

...SPLASH!!!

Then Chika dives in!

It's time for Monet and his wet pet to go home. His paintings are all still in place on the wall, but in a terribly messy state, as Chika, tail in the air, makes for her favorite cushion, warmed by a sunbeam, and, curling up, closes her eyes.

"ENOUGH MISCHIEF FOR ONE DAY," SAID MONET, AND HE TAPPED HER THREE TIMES WITH HIS PAINTBRUSH."

And it's sweet kitty dreams for Chika, while an exhilarated Monet grabs his palette and brushes and heads out to catch the colors of the setting sun, in Lily Murray's Monet's Cat (Random House Studio, 2021). This is a charming fantasy starring Monet's actual porcelain cat, still sleeping in the painter's home in Giverny, which offers an imaginative trip through the famous painter's home and favorite places, with a adventurous and playful feline as guide to five premier paintings by the great nineteenth-century Impressionist, Claude Monet, comically reproduced for young readers by illustrator Becky Cameron.

Says Kirkus Reviews, "A delightful introduction to a famous artist for young cat fanciers and art lovers alike."