Rupert Can Dance

Rupert is a gaunt, angular cat with a connoisseur's eye who loves to watch his owner, Mandy, dance. What Mandy doesn't know is that after she goes to sleep, Rupert dances, too, alone in the bedroom, leaping and twirling. He has no intention of revealing his skill to his mistress: "Rupert loved having a secret from Mandy. Cats love secrets." Of course, it's not long before Mandy wakes up and sees him, and Feiffer does a fine job of describing Rupert's distress after his cover is blown: "Immediately, he jumped out of Mandy's dancing shoes. And he fled under her bed." Mandy doesn't entirely understand what's bothering Rupert, but the way she lures Rupert out from under the bed and onto the dance floor again is a useful lesson in diplomacy. Feiffer is at his best drawing the two flying through the air in a cat-and-human pas de deux: it's a quintessentially Feifferian moment. And Rupert, of course, is a stand-in for the kind of children who need privacy and time to work things out for themselves. Ages 3-6. (Aug.)

PreS-Gr 2--Rupert loves to watch Mandy dance all day long. But what the child doesn't know is that when she goes to bed, her quiet ginger cat slips on her dancing shoes and dances the night away. Rupert wants to keep his secret, but one night Mandy wakes up, and Rupert is caught in the act. When she decides to teach him some steps, he hides under the bed ("Cats are not meant for lessons. Cats are free spirits"). Then Mandy understands and cleverly hatches a plan that ends with the two friends joyfully dancing together for years. This story focuses on the relationship between the two characters and celebrates the joy of dancing, alone or with friends. Feiffer has created a compelling, yet concise, sequential narrative that shows the importance of imagination and being flexible. Sets of three consecutive scenes are used several times to focus on a character's emotion or motivation. The mixed-media illustrations feature loose and broad line work that will be familiar to Feiffer's fans. The balance of full-page art and characters dancing against the white space propels the story forward while providing visual variety, and the large size of this book makes it great for group sharing. The main text is large and bold and done in a stylistic font, while Mandy's dialogue is in an easier-to-read font. A first purchase for cat fans and free spirits everywhere.--Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library

." . . Feiffer is at his best with the absurdly comic, and some of that is on display here as the lanky Rupert dances his little feline heart out." —BCCB

"This warmly humorous book may resonate most with those familiar with the love of dance or the delicate dignity of cats, but the story of friendship and shared passion at its heart will appeal to any reader." —The Horn Book

"*Feiffer has created a compelling, yet concise, sequential narrative that shows the importance of imagination and being flexible . . . A first purchase for cat fans and free spirits everywhere" —School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"Feiffer's familiar, sketchy Magic Marker artwork is especially rough here, compounding the story's already childlike sense of whimsy. The straightforward storytelling, built upon a strong sense of feline behaviors and attitudes, will appeal especially to cat aficionados." —Booklist

"The free-form illustrations, done in bright strokes of black, ginger, pinks and greens, swirl gracefully about the pages and pop off the white background . . . A happy romp for terpischorean cat lovers." —Kirkus Reviews

"Feiffer is at his best drawing the two flying through the air in a cat-and-human pas de deux: it's a quintessentially Feifferian moment." —Publishers Weekly