The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán"

by Jo Ellen Bogart, Sydney Smith (Illustrator)

Overview

A monk leads a simple life. He studies his books late into the evening and searches for truth in their pages. His cat, Pangur, leads a simple life, too, chasing prey in the darkness. As night turns to dawn, Pangur leads his companion to the truth he has been seeking.

The White Cat and the Monk is a retelling of the classic Old Irish poem “Pangur Bán.” With Jo Ellen Bogart’s simple and elegant narration and Sydney Smith’s classically inspired images, this contemplative story pays tribute to the wisdom of animals and the wonders of the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554987801
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	985,900
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

JO ELLEN BOGART was born in Houston, Texas, and received degrees in elementary education and psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. She has written many children's books, including The White Cat and the Monk, illustrated by Sydney Smith, a Governor General's Award finalist and a USBBY Outstanding International Book. Her picture book Jeremiah Learns to Read, illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson won the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award, and Gifts, illustrated by Barbara Reid, won the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award and was selected for IBBY's Honour List. Jo Ellen lives in Guelph, Ontario.

SYDNEY SMITH is the creator of Small in the City, which received the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Other books he has illustrated include The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart; Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson; and Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, which received the Kate Greenaway Medal. His other accolades include two Governor General’s Awards and four New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year citations. He is also the illustrator of I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, which received the Schneider Family Book Award and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and My Baba’s Garden, also written by Jordan Scott. Sydney lives with his family in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Editorial Reviews

Sydney Smith's distinctive art…falls partway between modernist fairy tale and graphic novel, opening an inviting portal between past and present as the ancient story comes to life in a decidedly contemporary aesthetic…It's a marvelously inspired choice to make a picture book out of an ancient poem by a forgotten monk. The text's subtle moral is timeless but also sings with elegiac timeliness—what a wonderful counterpoint to modern life's hamster wheel of achievement and approval, this idea that there is poetry in every pursuit executed with purposefulness and savored with uncompetitive joy.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Popova

★ 01/04/2016
In Bogart (Big and Small, Room for All) and Smith’s (Sidewalk Flowers) interpretation of a medieval Irish poem, a solitary, scholarly monk observes the cat living in his cell. The monk records the similarities between the cat’s pursuits and his own, creating a quietly powerful story about work, companionship, and the things that sustain—whether knowledge, faith, or a tasty mouse. A combination of panel sequences and full-page scenes, Smith’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations are dominated by moody browns and grays, with occasional bursts of color in the monk’s illuminated manuscripts; the cat’s playful curiosity and mutual tenderness with the monk add notes of light and humor. Bogart doesn’t emulate the rhyming couplets of the source material, instead writing in subtle, straightforward sentences: “We are each content, with all we need to entertain us.” Despite the reflective tone, text and art move readers swiftly through the story, which builds to a seeming epiphany for the monk. It’s a sophisticated and subtle story about the pursuit of joy—one that will easily resonate with readers young and old. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Truly a wonderful book, THE WHITE CAT AND THE MONK expresses the richness of the relationship between the two characters.

Canadian Review of Materials

If ever there was a book that could calm a child and draw her into meditative contemplation (perhaps right before bed?), The White Cat and the Monk is it.

STARRED REVIEW Quill and Quire

This is a great book for any group of readers . . . a great book to introduce to kids who may not think they like poetry.

The Children's Writer's Guild

Author Jo Ellen Bogart has provided an unembellished, thoughtful text that pays tribute to the value of perseverance and dedication for one's vocation, be it humble or exalted.

Canadian Children's Book News

Smith . . . imbues the text with contemporary visual language through his singular, elegantly minimalist graphic novel aesthetic.

Brain Pickings

The adaptation . . . is as unostentatious as the watercolor-and-ink illustrations, which meld a medieval spirit with a modern sense of cartooning, a juxtaposition that is fresh and seems entirely right.

Horn Book

The text’s subtle moral is timeless but also sings with elegiac timeliness — what a wonderful counterpoint to modern life’s hamster wheel of achievement and approval, this idea that there is poetry in every pursuit executed with purposefulness and savored with uncompetitive joy.

The New York Times - Maria Popova

The watercolor-and-ink artwork has both heft and humor, especially in the joyful depictions of the manuscripts...Readers who consider the story’s underlying messages about necessities, companionship, and fulfillment will come away enriched.

STARRED REVIEW Booklist

The stylized artwork captures the timeless beauty of the poem in this simple yet meaningful picturebook, highly recommended.

Midwest Book Review

Short-listed for the Governor General's Literary Awards, Young People's Literature – Illustrated Books

A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book

Brain Pickings' Best Children's Books of 2016

“…there is no denying that this a beautiful piece of bookmaking. The watercolor-and-ink artwork has both heft and humor, especially in the joyful depictions of the manuscripts. The shift from the darkness of the early spreads to the bright color of the characters' time together captures the pleasure of the relationship. The final spread of daybreak, meanwhile, is irresistible. Readers who consider the story’s underlying messages about necessities, companionship, and fulfillment will come away enriched.” — Booklist , Starred Review

"A stunningly illustrated meditative ode to the simple joys of human-animal companionship and the pursuit of knowledge." — School Library Journal , Starred Review.

“It’s a sophisticated and subtle story about the pursuit of joy—one that will easily resonate with readers young and old.” — Publishers Weekly , Starred Review.

"Reminiscent of the succinct storytelling and expressive brushwork of Chris Raschka and Kevin Henkes, this quiet, historical gem will charm children and adults alike." — Kirkus Reviews , Starred Review.

"The text’s subtle moral is timeless but also sings with elegiac timeliness — what a wonderful counterpoint to modern life’s hamster wheel of achievement and approval, this idea that there is poetry in every pursuit executed with purposefulness and savored with uncompetitive joy." — The New York Times

"The adaptation . . . is as unostentatious as the watercolor-and-ink illustrations, which meld a medieval spirit with a modern sense of cartooning, a juxtaposition that is fresh and seems entirely right. " — Horn Book

"Smith . . . imbues the text with contemporary visual language through his singular, elegantly minimalist graphic novel aesthetic." — Brain Pickings

"Author Jo Ellen Bogart has provided an unembellished, thoughtful text that pays tribute to the value of perseverance and dedication for one's vocation, be it humble or exalted." — Canadian Children's Book News

"This is a great book for any group of readers . . . a great book to introduce to kids who may not think they like poetry." — The Children's Writer's Guild

"Truly a wonderful book, The White Cat and the Monk expresses the richness of the relationship between the two characters." — Canadian Review of Materials

"The stylized artwork captures the timeless beauty of the poem in this simple yet meaningful picturebook, highly recommended." — Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

12/01/2016
Gr 1–5—On a dark night, a white cat slinks through a stone abbey until it reaches a monk's candlelit chamber. There, each spends the late hours absorbed in patient work—the monk over his books, the cat outside a mouse's hole—until they welcome the dawn together. Adapted from the anonymous Irish poem "Pangur Bán," the simple, lyrical text combines with shadowy ink and watercolor images into a beautifully illustrated ode to companionship and the pursuit of knowledge.

School Library Journal

★ 2016-01-09
In the ninth century C.E., an anonymous, Irish Benedictine monk penned a poem drawing parallels between the pursuits of his cat and his own work; Bogart's retelling and Smith's paintings create an accessible window into this world. The tale begins wordlessly with watercolor-and-ink compositions framed in sequential panels of varying size. Readers follow the titular feline from a forest into the monastery, where he pads under vaulted ceilings to a row of closed doors. From within one, light leaks out, and a robed man with a long, white beard welcomes his friend: "I, monk and scholar, / share my room // with my white cat, Pangur. / By candle's light, late into the night / we work, each at a special trade." The voice is lyrical yet easily understood. As the animal stalks a mouse, the monk studies a manuscript. The illuminated pages he pores over present cryptic, Celtic-inspired designs featuring the picture book's characters. The palette shifts from shadowy panels with spots of golden light to colorful full bleeds depicting the open volume. Contentment and joy are reflected in text and image as the duo move toward the window; joined by a butterfly, they behold the "light in the darkness." Reminiscent of the succinct storytelling and expressive brushwork of Chris Raschka and Kevin Henkes, this quiet, historical gem will charm children and adults alike. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews