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I Won't Eat That

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I Won't Eat That

Hardcover

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Hardcover
$15.99

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Overview

Cat has no idea what he wants — until it’s right in front of him.

Cat is very hungry. But cat food is dry and dull and not at all yummy. So what in the world should Cat eat instead? Turtle eats worms, but worms are too wiggly. Fox eats rabbits, but rabbits are too bouncy. What everyone else loves to eat is thoroughly unappetizing to Cat. Until, by chance, the thing Cat really wants to eat appears right in front of him. What could it be? Christopher Silas Neal’s retro-style illustrations and easy-to-follow story are the perfect match for even the pickiest eaters — and the patient souls that feed them.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763679095
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,148,983
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Christopher Silas Neal is the illustrator of Over and Under the Snow and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, both written by Kate Messner, and is a regular contributor to the New York Times. He is also the author-illustrator of Everyone. Christopher Silas Neal lives in Brooklyn, New York.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

09/11/2017
A beefy yellow cat narrates Neal’s tale; he’s through with cat food, he says. After sending his kibble flying with a kick, he sets off in search of tastier fare and surveys other animals. “What does a turtle eat,” he asks. “Worms, of course,” is the turtle’s reply. “But I must warn you, they wiggle.” Neal’s animals, painted in milky colors, have a folktale look suited to the story’s traditional question-and-answer form and use of repetition. Several animals later, the cat is no closer to satisfaction: “I’m really hungry and searching for something yummy to eat that doesn’t wiggle, bounce, or bite and that isn’t too big, too dry, or too boring.” Suddenly, a mouse appears and asks what a cat eats. The jolt of electricity is palpable; the cat lowers its body and licks its lips. “I think I’ve just figured it out. But I must warn you...” he says. Though the mouse escapes, the biggest surprise is the cat’s transformation from idle observer into glittery-eyed predator. Perhaps that’s the story’s lesson—the right choice is the one that instantly focuses our attention. Ages 4–6. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Throughout, mixed-media illustrations are eye-catching and expressive with bold, large forms set against spare backgrounds, making the book a sure bet for storytime success with large groups. You will read this (and reread it, too).
—Kirkus Reviews

Neal’s animals, painted in milky colors, have a folktale look suited to the story’s traditional question-and-answer form and use of repetition...Though the mouse escapes, the biggest surprise is the cat’s transformation from idle observer into glittery-eyed predator. Perhaps that’s the story’s lesson—the right choice is the one that instantly focuses our attention.
—Publishers Weekly

The clear and uncluttered illustrations, combined with a brief text consisting entirely of dialogue, make this ideal for sharing with various-sized audiences. However, be ready for conversations about the open ending and the culinary and predatory habits of specific animals.
—Booklist

The large illustrations make this a natural choice for storytime. Youngsters will love repeating Cat’s question to each animal and joining the feline in its cumulative list of objections. Requests for repeated readings are inevitable.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
K-Gr 2— A persnickety cat refuses to eat cat food and searches for a tastier alternative by asking other animals what they eat. Each creature's answer, however, comes with a warning. Turtle's worm diet is wiggly. The rabbits Fox eats are bouncy. Chimps eat ants that bite, and Lion eats zebras that are too big. Elephant eats dry grass and the "phosphorescent phytoplankton" that Whale eats is just "too weird." When a mouse arrives and asks, "What does a cat eat?" however, Cat discovers the perfect food and offers its own warning to the little creature. Neal's mixed-media artwork depicts a large orange cat full of personality, viewed initially sprawled across a spread frowning at its food dish. Next the feline kicks the dish away while it prances off, nose in the air, to seek better fare. Each time it approaches a new animal, Cat conveys, cumulatively, all the reasons why it rejects the other animals' food. The large illustrations often present face-to-face views of Cat and the animals it encounters. Whale and Elephant are so large they appear in parts over two pages. Although Fox and Lion chase their prey, no actual capture is visible, and only Turtle is seen with a meal in its mouth. Even Mouse seems to be successfully running for safety on the endpapers. VERDICT The large illustrations make this a natural choice for storytime. Youngsters will love repeating Cat's question to each animal and joining the feline in its cumulative list of objections. Requests for repeated readings are inevitable.— Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA

School Library Journal

2017-08-02
A finicky cat searches for a meal to satisfy its hunger in this darkly humorous tale.A marmalade cat turns its nose up to cat food and asks other animals what they eat in order to find its next meal. Each animal's food of choice, however, seems unappetizing to the cat. Turtle's wiggly worms, Fox's bouncy rabbits, Chimp's biting ants, and Elephant's dry grass, among other choices, meet with Cat's disdain. The text follows a cumulative pattern that has Cat listing all of the reasons it rejects others' foods as it approaches each successive animal. When naïve Mouse arrives on the scene, however, Cat perks up when it asks, "What does a cat eat?" The conclusion of the book doesn't definitively show Mouse's probable, sad fate, but a final spread depicts Cat ready to pounce on a wide-eyed Mouse, and closing endpapers show Mouse scurrying away through what seems to be scattered, rejected cat food. Throughout, mixed-media illustrations are eye-catching and expressive with bold, large forms set against spare backgrounds, making the book a sure bet for storytime success with large groups. You will read this (and reread it, too). (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

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