Can't Catch Me!

by Timothy Knapman, Simona Ciraolo (Illustrator)

Overview

A cheeky tale follows a speedy mouse as he taunts a progression of hungry animals — with a wickedly funny final twist.

“I’m the fastest mouse in the world!” Jake claims. “I’m like the wind. I am faster than lightning!” But will speed alone keep boastful Jake from being caught by a cat, a fox, a wolf, or a bear? “Can’t catch me!” he shouts. Well, clever Old Tom Cat will just have to see about that. . . . Expressive and energetic illustrations pair with a fun cumulative text in a mischievous story that begs to be read aloud.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763694968
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Timothy Knapman is a children’s book author as well as a lyricist and playwright. He is the author of Dinosaurs Don't Have Bedtimes, Soon, Time Now to Dream, and the popular Mungo series. He lives in England.

Simona Ciraolo is the author-illustrator of Hug Me and other books for children. She studied animation at the Italian National Film School and received an MA in illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

09/25/2017
Knapman’s tale of comeuppance is as tightly constructed as a fable from Aesop, and the ending is just as inevitable. It starts with a bang: “Here’s Jake, the fastest mouse in the world. Oh, no—he’s gone! Quick! After him!” Old Tom Cat, painted by Ciraolo (The Lines on Nana’s Face) with sinuous curves and a cruel smirk, swipes at Jake, but the mouse is too fast. He outruns other predators, too: “I was too fast for Old Tom Cat, and I’ll be too fast for you,” Jake tells the fox as he hustles away like a sprinter. He’s too fast for the wolf and the bear, and he taunts them all. “I’m faster than lightning!” he crows, dancing around. When Jake returns to where he started, Old Tom Cat has learned a thing or two. “I’m so weak,” the cat says. “Come closer.” While arrogant Jake isn’t the most likeable mouse in the world, readers who admire raw swagger will hope he escapes once more. He doesn’t, but Ciraolo’s sunny woodland paintings and Knapman’s engaging storyteller’s voice offer compensation. Ages 2–5. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Knapman peppers his text with juicy action verbs in a text that begs to be read aloud. A valuable lesson on egotism, with more than one echo of "The Gingerbread Boy."
—Kirkus Reviews

While arrogant Jake isn’t the most likeable mouse in the world, readers who admire raw swagger will hope he escapes once more. He doesn’t, but Ciraolo’s sunny woodland paintings and Knapman’s engaging storyteller’s voice offer compensation.
—Publishers Weekly

Reminiscent of “The Gingerbread Man” or the Russian Kolobok folktales, a sprightly yarn with a moral about the danger of arrogance. Best shared one-on-one or in a small group setting.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2017
PreS-Gr 3—Jake, a smug, grinning rodent, is the self-proclaimed "fastest mouse in the world!" Indeed, he seems to be too quick for Old Tom Cat, who "ties himself in knots trying to catch" the boastful critter. Escaping Tom, Jake runs out into the fields and forest, meeting a fox, a wolf, and a bear, and taunting each one that he was "too fast for Old Tom Cat, and [he'll] be too fast" for them, too. His confidence inflated further, Jake runs around the world and returns to where he started to brag about his speediness. This time, however, the crafty cat has a different strategy in mind. Pretending to be weak with hunger, he says "Come a little closer" until the foolish mouse gets too close for the last time. Ciracolo's cheerful pencil and watercolor illustrations perfectly convey Jake's energetic antics and his bravado, their comical expressiveness offsetting Jake's somewhat grim demise. VERDICT Reminiscent of "The Gingerbread Man" or the Russian Kolobok folktales, a sprightly yarn with a moral about the danger of arrogance. Best shared one-on-one or in a small group setting.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

2017-09-18
Is the boasting mouse asking for trouble?Jake, "the fastest mouse in the world," taunts Old Tom Cat, who gives chase, dreaming of a sweet young mouse to eat. It's no contest. Jake leaps into the garden, where weary Old Tom gets tangled in knots. Next, Jake strolls by a hungry red fox who smiles in greeting and declares his intention to eat him up. Jake taunts the fox—"Can't catch me!"—who scampers and scurries but never comes close to catching him. This little race has led Jake to the woods, where he's coveted by a sly wolf who stays low to the ground but can't catch Jake either, and neither can the bear who tries after. The elated Jake runs and runs, until he's right back where he started. Old Tom opens one sleepy eye to ask Jake where he's been, asking him to come closer so he can hear. When Jake does, Old Tom swallows him with one bite. Delicious! Ciraolo's fluid pencil-and-watercolor illustrations give readers a fluffy, big-eyed Old Tom, and the other predators are equally expressive; Jake is appropriately tiny, but his big, boasting mouth gapes wide with hubris. Knapman peppers his text with juicy action verbs in a text that begs to be read aloud. A valuable lesson on egotism, with more than one echo of "The Gingerbread Boy." (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews