When Cats Dream

I loved that Dav Pilkey THOUGHT to imagine a cat's dream life. (I mean, how could anything other than a cat know what takes place in a cat's sleeping head, anyway?) I liked Pilkey's choice to contrast the cat's simple, serene, and secure waking life--calm-colored reality--with its detailed, dynamic, and un-domesticated dream life--sharp-edged fantasy. Read WHEN CATS DREAM to your cats... and kids!

Comedic writer Dav Pilkey, perhaps best known for his exuberantly silly "Captain Underpants" series, celebrates dreams and art in this colorful story of a cat's naptime visions. However, to "buy" into the story line, Pilkey asks that we accept the premise that cats are bored creatures who endure the human-imposed routines. I know this is mere fancy, but I just don't buy it. Most of the cats I've known are independent and stubborn and are quite able to disrupt routines, plans, and the apparent limits of reason. Although this is a minor point, I do wish he had framed the story within a more cat-savvy context. Dreaming cats inhabit vivid images that are an escape into the wonders of possibility: "Nothing is the same when cats dream...The fishbowl is now an ocean, and cats can dive in." Pilkey does a masterful job of illustrating the transition to a dream state. The black and white illustrations (indicating boredom) undergo an "Oz"-like transformation into color. Just like people, cats often dream about things they want: "When cats dream, someone has always left the back door open, and no cat is afraid. The big orange dog that lives outside is asleep, snoring, snoring, snoring. And cats dance on his head." Other Freudian elements include a small drawing of a cat hugging a female-looking companion. Cat dreams are happy, exciting, fantastic, imaginative, and without physical bounds. Yet, cat dreams end on a comforting note, because "cats must go home," where "the other cats sing songs about you." Pilkey's narrative is soothing and rhythmic, and his Picasso, Rousseau and (especially) Chagall-inspired fantasy drawings make this a wonderful going-to-bed book. It's also a possible antidote to a child's fears about sleeping and dreams. Adults will appreciate the artistic allusions, and the sight of their child drifting off to a pleasant cat-like sleep. Pilkey's book is as cozy and warm as having a cat sleeping at the foot of your bed.

I love this book and so does my son. Great pictures and a wonderful story. Great to read aloud.

This book contains some of the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen. I am trying to introduce my daughter to books which use language in creative ways combined with exceptional artwork and this book does both. Dav Pilkey blends features from famous paintings and his own colorful style. He makes you wish you could join the cats on their trip through the jungle with the long grass tickling their feet. For another beautiful book about cats, be sure to check out Cynthia Rylant's "Cats in Heaven".

I collect a lot of Dav Pilkey, and was surprised that the author of the great, but silly _Captain Underpants_ could create such a beautiful book. The artwork and text are truly wonderful... a must for cat lovers and dreamers everywhere.