Cowley, Joy (text) Robyn Belton (illus.): Greedy Cat and the Goldfish.

[dagger][dagger] COWLEY, Joy (text) Robyn Belton (illus.) Greedy Cat and the Goldfish Scholastic, 2009 unpaged NZ$18.99 pbk ISBN 9781869436896 SCIS 1425039

When Grandma goes on holiday, it is young Katie who has been given the task of looking after the goldfish. This seems to be an uncomplicated task other than for the mischievous malingering of Mr. You-Know-Who: the cat! Epic battles ensue (of comic proportions) as Greedy Cat, a very poetic greedy cat, thinks about a snack. Belton's illustrations have an excellent balance between precise detail in the foreground and uncluttered backspace so that the full drama of the moment is captured. It is subtle art and so muted colours rather than bold primary colours predominate. Altogether classic narrative poetry coupled with one of our leading book artists is bound to please. Recommended.

[dagger][dagger] Book by a New Zealand author or illustrator