The Cat at Night
by Dahlov Ipcar
$16.95
Hardcover, Illustrated Children's Book
ISBN: 978-1-934031-23-0
ABOUT THE BOOK
Join the farmer's cat on his fascinating nighttime journey through fields, farms, forests and even the city to see what only he can see after the sun sets. Legendary artist Dahlov Ipcar mesmerizingly alternates between dark night scenes and vivid color to deliver a beautifully illustrated children's classic.
REVIEWS
"This is an underappreciated classic. It follows a cat on his nightly journey through a farm and the surrounding area, all the while comparing what humans see to what a cat sees. Artwork is always important to me - I grew up wanting to be a children's book illustrator - and this has some of the boldest pictures of any picture book. The drawings, like Matisse cutouts, show what a human sees (black silhouettes against gunmetal blue skies) and then what a cat sees (pinks and greens and yellows). Kids feel close to animals - there's a natural kinship - so seeing the world through a cat's eyes has a certain primal appeal."
– Dave Eggers, award-winning author (What is the What, Zeitoun), editor, journalist, publisher and screenwriter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dahlov Ipcar was born in Vermont, raised in Greenwich Village, and summered in Maine after her parents (the famed sculptor William Zorach and artist Marguerite Zorach) bought a farm on Georgetown Island in 1923.
Thirteen years later, eighteen-year-old Dahlov, an aspiring artist, married Adoph Ipcar. The young couple left New York City in 1937 to live on the Maine farm where they first met.
By the early 1940s, Ipcar had nearly given up thoughts of writing and illustrating books, but was contacted by a New York publisher to illustrate The Little Fisherman, the latest title by Margaret Wise Brown. The struggling young artist jumped at the chance, and this charming title helped launch a four decade run that saw her write and illustrate more than thirty children's books of her own.
Today, Ipcar's intricate, distinctive, and fanciful artwork is known worldwide, with pieces of her work in the collections of numerous renowned museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Meanwhile, Ipcar still lives and paints in the 1860s farmhouse that she shared with Adolph for nearly seventy years. She once said she didn't want celebrity or fame; she just "wanted to be recognized." In retrospect, a fairly modest statement for a Maine – and American – treasure.
EXCERPT
“
The cat can see at night.
The sky is dark and full of stars, but everything else
is like day to him.
He can see the dog sleeping in the doghouse and the doves
asleep on the dovecote.
But the cat doesn't feel like sleeping.
Night is the best time of all – the
time when he likes to go exploring.
”
Farmyard Alphabet
