I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The pictures are honestly what led me to give such a high rating. I really enjoyed them. The picture was okay but could have been a bit better executed.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I have tried to get this book into a proper download so I could read the text but have been unable to do so. It is a shame as I find the pictures absolutely charming and I know I would enjoy the entire book.
Based on the pictures alone, I give it four purrs and two paws up. I am sure it would warrant the full five purrs and two paws up if I had been able to see it all.

Muted beautifully illustrated pages make this a great bedtime story for children.
Dealing with loneliness,friendship,loss and hopefulness this is better read by children a little older who have a comprehension of loss and waiting.
I would recommend this book.

Pub Date 11 Oct 2019
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I just lost my dearest companion in July. He should have lived to 40, but I guess only rare cats live that long. So sad. I loved this story. A twist on our life expectancy, Mr. Cat finds a very tiny human girl. Poignant tale. A little too soon for me, but lovely story. The illustrations were magical; muted colors, lovely.

*thank you to Netgalley, Clavis Publishing and Wang Yu Wei for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

The illustrations in this were quite beautiful. There was such a lovely softness about them even though they weren't very colourful, it matches the mood of this story perfectly.

While I did like the story for the most part, I had a couple of issues with it. I thought it was a rather sweet little story but the fact that the little girl was found, what appeared to be, naked, does unsettle me a bit. But at the same time, I think it was ment to represent her birth in a way so it seems ok that way but I still can't help but feel like it was a bit creepy because the cat is male. Now that is probably not going to be an issue for a lot of people but I do know of a few that it would be one for, so I just needed to point it out.

I liked that she was so tiny though. Like Thumbelina tiny. It made her seem more precious. Mr Cat cared for her and looked after her. Then when Mr Cat learns that the little girl, his new friend, won't always be there, there is a very real feeling of sadness in the illustrations and words. That can be difficult to show to readers in picture books but Wang Yu Wei does such a great job of it. I'm not sure very young readers will pick the storyline up but the older ones will. This book can also touches on the subject of Loss.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Clovis Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. To be honest, I didn't understand the ending. So how could I explain this to my child or grandchild? Is this a retelling of a folk tale? Why the odd ending? I give this 2 stars the graphics are quite nice.

I love cats and really wish I could see this book to review it. I wish there was a warning before you request a title that it is not available in kindle format and only to download. I have not been able to successfully download any books from that method. Sometimes I can get the library book and still review it, but I was not able to find this one.

Engaging, easy-to-read, enchanting, educational.

This beautiful book's definitely on my list to purchase on the day of publication. The illustration details are whimsically memorable. I love the idea of a big cat and a little girl within the poetic story with bold words to learn. I know this is a book for youngsters but I indulge in these types of unique books too. But it's a must have for any teacher or parent wanting their children to learn about letting go and friendship.

Beautiful story and illustrations. This is a book of art, poetry and love.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early read, this is my honest review.

Mr. Cat lives alone and is a prolific painter. Winter has come early and he decides to take his painting materials outside and capture the beauty of the fluttering snowflakes softly landing on the autumn leaves. To his surprise he discovers a green leaf and when he turns it over there is a little girl under the leaf sound asleep? How can that possibly be? He gently picks her up and brings her inside his home fearing she may freeze death if he leaves her out in the cold.

Although at first he finds his new companion annoying she wiggles into his heart and he nurtures her and loves her living there with him. What a joy she turns out to be.When he takes her outside into the snow he finds that wherever she steps yellow flowers appear. One of his plants that fell on the little girl's foot starts to grow... bigger, bigger, and Bigger! She seems to have magical powers.

The little girl begins to sleep more and more and when it gets closer to Spring she just disappears! Totally gone! I wonder what happened to her and how Mr. Cat feels now that he is alone once again?

The art work is soft and beautiful and the storyline is tender and sweet. It touches on themes of nurturing, friendship, acceptance and loss. It opens up many avenues to have conversations on these subjects. I really enjoyed this book a lot and highly recommend it.

I love the illustrations in this children's book. Unfortunately, I don't like the story much, especially the ending. This book is for small children, who in my opinion would not understand or like the end of the story. 3/5 for the graphic work.

The illustrations were beautiful, and the balance of text and white space and illustration was good, but the beginning and middle didn't really seem to set up the end well. I liked this, but because of the ending, I didn't love it.

Poor little cat found a small friend to keep him through the winter and at the end of it she is gone. Now he is all alone again, the poor lonely cat has to wait until the next winter to see if she would be back. A little tale about friendship.

This is a lovely little picture book—with gorgeous, delicate illustrations—which is somewhat reminiscent of the Russian folktale Snegurka, The Snow Maiden. However, instead of an elderly couple who, in their longing for a child, fashion a girl of snow, who then magically comes alive, Mr. Cat, a rather irascible feline artist, discovers a tiny little girl under a single green leaf in the snow. Winter has come early one year, and Mr. Cat wants to capture in paint the brilliant flame-coloured leaves of autumn against the white background of snow. That’s when the discovery is made. Mr. Cat takes the little girl home and cares for her—though she can certainly be annoying, messing with his paints, knocking over fragile objects, and clinging to his head or tail.

Soon he discovers that she has remarkable abilities. The touch of her feet appears to make things grow. Footprints in the snow produce brilliant yellow flowers; contact with her makes a houseplant’s growth take off. Mr. Cat strives to capture the beauty that springs forth with his paints. Alas, like the snow maiden of the folktale or the mythical Persephone, the tiny girl’s time in the world of Mr. Cat is limited, but there is hope that she, and the renewal she brings, will come again.

I think children and grown-ups both (particularly cat lovers) would enjoy this whimsical little book.

"Mr. Cat and the Little Girl" is a weird little story with a sad ending. Little girls might call it a bad ending and start crying. I imagine little girls asking, "Where did she go?" I would like to hear a parent explain the outcome. The art is beautiful. The tale is not.

Mr. Cat and the Little Girl by Wang Yu Wei is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I had a difficult time trying to rate this book, it is such a strange book. It has likeable and unlikable features. I love the art! Wonderful! This is what made me go to the 4 stars instead of 3. The story is adorable until it just stopped.
In a way I felt the author was switching the cat and girl's places. Normally a girl or boy would find a little kitten freezing in the snow. In the house the cat would get into all that mischief. Then the wild would call to the cat and they would leave or death would come. Maybe I am thinking too hard in a children's book! Lol!

While out in the nature painting, Mr Cat comes across a tiny little girl. Soon, he will start spending his days caring for the girl, and his world will become more colorful and magical.Until Mr Cat will realize that soon the day will come that she disappears.

Mr. Cat and the Little Girl is a wonderful, tender story about friendship, nurturing, and also loss. This is a beautiful allegory to read. My only objection is that it's probably to hard an allegory for young children. However, this could definitely work for older children or as a read-along with parents, who will then discuss about the story with their little ones. All in all, this is a very good read, and the illustrations are also magical.

Wow! How imaginative and lovely. I've never read anything quite like Mr. Cat and the Little Girl. It is a lovely, gentle little story about friendship and loss and renewal. It is strange but in a great way and the illustrations are wonderful.

A cute little book! I loved the pictures! The story was one of loss and hope. I'm sure my nieces would love this book as they love cats so much! Thank you to Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one is a bit strange, but I really liked it. I’m not sure who the audience will be for this one. Possibly cat lovers and little girls. The tiny girl in the book is so beautiful, fun, lively and quite mischievous. As a librarian, I really was touched when Mr. Cat had a question and consulted an encyclopedia

Mr. Cat is an artist, and one day when he's outside painting, he comes across a tiny naked girl lying by a pile leaves next a green leaf. The land is cold, barren and lonely and the tiny girl with long hair is naked. Mr. Cat warms her with his fluffy paws, takes her to his home where she is clothed, fed and given her own paintbrush. Mr. Cat seems to treat her as his loving pet. One day, they venture outside in the snow where a trail of yellow flowers appear as tiny girl walks. Here is where Mr. Cat takes notes and consults the encyclopedia and learns the girl’s life span is only one winter. Cat and girl enjoy being together til one day she is just gone. It’s hard to know how Mr. Cat feels because his expression hardly changes.

At one point there a bunny appears with no apparent reason and I would like to pick the author/illustrator’s brain about that.

I think children will see this as a book of friendship and be sad at the loss of tiny girl, then hope that she’ll return next winter.
I read the book five or more times and liked it more and more with each read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis for providing a digital ARC. I plan to order my own hard copy for my collection of unusual picture books. I’m happy to learn about the works of Wang Yuwei.

What a strange little book. I'm really not sure how to rate this one or what to even think. This short (50 pages) book tells the story of an adult male cat (who wears clothes and paints) who finds a tiny little naked girl and takes her home. He takes care of her even though she frequently annoys him, and grows to enjoy her. She has magical properties, like causing yellow flowers to appear where she's walked and making plants grow bigger. Then she disappears and he misses her, and hopes to find her again.

The whole thing reminded me of some old folk tale, but there's no mention of it ever being one. The illustrations are nice and the tone is kind of nice, but it's also just so odd, and ends rather abruptly and sadly. It's supposed to be a story of loss and I presume it's designed to help children cope with loss, but the fact that the child just disappears and he has no closure or way of knowing if she's coming back means it's not going to resonate with kids who have lost a pet or loved one to death.

There is kind of a cool tone to this book, but it's likely to just confuse a lot of children (and adults).

My rating system:

1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.