“Paris! Art! Cats! What more could you want?” - Inner Flower Child Books website.

What indeed! Sounds perfect to me. Thank you so much to Inner Flower Child Books for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile Alexandre Steinlen’ by Susan Schaefer Bernardo with illustrations by Courtenay Fletcher in exchange for an honest review.

I have always loved the iconic Le Chat Noir poster (I even have it as a t-shirt) but knew very little about the artist who had created it.

This short picture biography created for children was a total delight. The art is charming and beautiful and its rhyming text whimsical yet informative. Every page had me smiling with joy.

I feel the idea of introducing children to art and artists via this kind of medium is an excellent one. I will be recommending this to my friends with children and grandchildren and also suggest it for our local children’s library.

Pros: This book will warm your heart while teaching at the same time. I studied a different foreign language during my school days, but the author offers translation for most of the conversations, which is delightful. I read this to my little one that was confused at first but then said, "mom, it rhymes," so we started from the very beginning and read the book with this in mind: history, justice, and a way of life before our time is displaying throughout this book. Be sure to look at the minor details because you will be amazed at the beautiful artwork. The commentary at the end put a smile on my face because I understood how an influencer was created and formed during that time. To read that this artist influenced Picasso is impressive as well. An enjoyable read for expanding your knowledge base while sharing a piece of history with your child.

Cons: None. However, I almost stopped reading because I thought this book was entirely in a different language, but hang on and it will all make sense.

when I ht get this book that it was a children's book as I just saw it was about Theophile Steinlen who was both a social activist, cat lover, artist, printer & major element in the French arts scene. Absolutely delightful and would buy it for any child as the author is able to deftly teach a little french and history in a picture book in a manner that would be palatable to be absorbed by children in a way to further lead them on a quest for knowledge and history. Very very cute.

A beautiful, unique and fun book to read! The pictures are lovely and the story of Theophile Steinlen's life is told in rhyme and who doesn't enjoy that? Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book! It's delightful! #TheArtistWhoLovedCatsTheInspiringTaleOfTheophileSteinlen #NetGalley

Charming, fun and quick to draw in its reader, this tale about artist Theophile Steinlen will take you away to the streets of Paris, where history and art come alive.

The illustrations are bright and adorable, a perfect accompaniment to a well-paced, intriguing story which my children thoroughly enjoyed listening to, pointing out little amusing details and following the black cat narrator from page to page.

I adored the rhyming style of this book - reminiscent of the children's classic Madeleine, so very readable, curious and inviting. A few words and phrases in French are included for atmosphere and are a wonderful addition and opportunity for children to hear and learn the language of the city of lights.

A great way to explore European art and spark an interest. 5 stars.

THE ARTIST WHO LOVED CATS WILL TEACH AND DELIGHT YOUR CHILD.
Exploring art and cats might seem a little odd, but this books allows your children to do just that! Together you will step through the life of Theophile-Alexandre Steinlein.

Kids Will Love Exploring Art and Cats
Every page is a chance to explore. You and your child will hunt for all the cats hidden in the pages. At the end of the book is a section that reveals a few objects, in addition to all the cats, that you child is challenged to find in the previous pages.

The publisher even has additional activities for your child to explore! You can download a free cat puppet here on their site, and there is also a really cute excerpt from the book on YouTube.

EXPLORING ART AND CATS CAN BE THE ACTIVITY THAT BRINGS YOU AND YOUR CHILD TOGETHER! THIS IS THE KIND OF STORY YOU AND YOUR CHILD WILL READ AGAIN AND AGAIN.
The story is laid out as a picture book telling the life of the artist and his loves. The pacing is perfect for reading aloud to younger children, but the book provides enough content to inform and engage older children who can easily read on their own.

An inspiring delight to read. Stunning illustrations are paired with the extraordinary true story of a great artist. And it rhymes! It achieves the perfect trifecta of children's books. I could read this 100 times and never tire of it.

This was a quick and nice read. Beginning with a cat-shaped ornament, a little girl learns about the life of an artist, Steinlen, famous for having made so many posters, particularly one with the famous Chat Noir. I recommend this book to children and adults, to those who love art and those who want to share this passion with children. The colors and designs are beautiful and attractive, cute and lively. Also the reconstruction of the nineteenth century Paris is really cute.

Gatti, gatti, gatti nelle illustrazioni famosissime di Théophile-Alexander Steiner: un artista che non molti conoscono di nome, ma di cui tutti hanno visto le opere, senza saperlo. Pubblicità, poster (fra cui quella iconica del club Le Chat Noir, appunto), vignette, copertine che hanno segnato un'epoca e regalato la notorietà a una artista mite e intelligente, devoto all'arte e allo studio della vita e della gente comune, che riproduceva con fedeltà nelle sue opere.

E poi i gatti: creature agili e misteriose, compagni di vita, numi tutelari che hanno accompagnato l'artista dai suoi difficili inizi nella vibrante Parigi di fine Ottocento fino al successo, impensato e duraturo: cinquantasei pelosi portafortuna che bazzicavano la villetta di famiglia, portando affetto e ispirazione.

E la sua vita raccontata in rima, grazie alla curiosità di una bambina e alla statuetta di un gatto, con un testo brillante e meravigliose illustrazioni.

This is the perfect beautiful elementary school book. The illustrations are gorgeous, full of color and details. The words having a rhythm that gets stuck in your head.

I love that you’re also getting a history lesson and a good moral about using your talents to stand up for what you believe in. I think it’s a great way to expose children to a little bit of culture, history, art and a foreign language without overwhelming them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inner Flower Child Books for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book, I'm so glad I got the chance to read it. I was already a Steinlen fan and I love the idea of a story book explaining the work and life of an artist. I read it with my children as a bedtime story, aged 3 and 7 and they both enjoyed it. My youngest was taken with the story and the cats, my eldest enjoyed learning about the artist and the inclusion of French. I'd highly recommend it and would happily buy more books like this.

A lovely book against the setting of Montmartre, Paris.
It tells in a simplified manner the engaging life of a young artist who moved to this vibrant place and fashioned for himself a style that is somewhat typical of graphic design and poster art of its time.
Crammed with his contemporaries and reproductions of his work this biography of Steinlen is a joy to read.
The story is further enhanced by the use throughout of rhyming couplets that interest and delight.
Designed for a young active mind this short book will be a firm favourite for children and their parents.
With a muted colour palette of gentle pastel shades the illustrations only build on the reading pleasure.
The beauty of such works is they demonstrate far more than the facts and figures of a life. It shows inspiration, dedication and determination to get on and succeed. It shows the value of objects, a pictorial history and obliquely even has time to identify the integrity to use influence and fame to speak out against societies ills in the references to Steinlen’s anti war stance.
A living book to search the pages for references to the artists work and associates that will keep the experience live and rewarding. Hopefully too it will inspire young people to follow their dreams and visit Paris for themselves.

All History books and lessons should now be written in this form and with cats included. 😻

As a visual learner, more of these type of books would have helped me a lot as a child. I'm glad children today have a wide variety of resources and books. 💕📚

***Thanks to Netgalley and Inner Flower Child Books / Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the review copy.***

I really enjoyed this title. I feel like this biography of Steinlen was made to be incredibly relatable for younger readers. Biographies for children are tricky as it is often difficult to get children interested in history and people of the past at a young age. By starting the story with a little girl viewing trinkets in an antique shop window, the author and illustrator make Steinlen's life relevant to children. Sprinkle in talking, storytelling cats and a man that loves cats so much they appear in his artwork at all angles and you have the makings of a wonderful picture book biography.

Received as an ARC from NetGalley, Inner Flower Child Books, and IBPA in exchange for an honest review.

A gorgeous book. Great use of language and rhymes both memorable and accessible. The biography of the artist is rendered in an easy to follow manner but includes the main details of the story, and also useful background information.
The images are gorgeous, encapsulating well the story, Steinlen's art, and the atmosphere of the era.
The final capsule-biography allows for a straightforward reading experience, and the activities will ensure children can enjoy the story in multiple ways and play together.
A fantastic storybook.

This book was great. I loved the rhythm of the words (particularly the little bits with the rhyming french and english translations) and the art was gorgeous. My son is 1 so I was a little concerned he wouldn't be interested but it was the perfect length for an afternoon story and he was entranced the whole time. I fully plan on purchasing this when it comes out and requesting my local library does the same.

This is an extraordinarily charming book. The illustrations are delightful and evocative. The text is rhyming. Young readers or listeners will learn about Steinlen, the artist who made the iconic Le Chat Noir posters. He studied textiles but realized that fine art was his calling. Steinlen encountered many other famous artists during this exciting time in French art.

At the end of the book, there is additional biographical information on the artist. There is also a section on objects that young readers can go back and search for in the text.

I enjoyed this lovely trip to France. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5
Was pretty good. More or less what was expected. Nice flow to it. I hope go see more from the author!

It was so great to see a book about Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen. I have had a Chat Noir poster for over a decade and I love it. The large black cat is a presence in our office, and it would not feel like the same space without it.

The book is a children’s book about a girl who is interested in a cat sculpture in an antique shop. Upon entering she learns about the famous artist from a cat that knew him.

This was a very cute way of telling the story, the modern little girl and the talking cat telling her about the artist. There were flashbacks and the text had a rhyming scheme that worked nicely. The illustrations included not only new images for this book but also replications of the artists work for the eyes of the younger readers.

It was very well done and I learned a lot about he artist that has had a place on my wall for over a decade. If your young one likes cats this book is full of them but it is also educational.

An inspiring and simple tale that is a must for kindergarten classrooms interested in garnering interest in reading through simple stories.