Blog Tour: The Cheshire Cheese Cat

The Cheshire Cheese Cat
Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright; Barry Moser, Illustrator
Peachtree Publishers, 2011

Oh. My. Goodness. I knew from the cover and blurb that this was going to be a fun read, but I had no idea it'd be so fun - nor so adorable. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to join the Cheshire Cheese Cat blog tour and am super excited to get to share my thoughts with you, as well as offer a copy to one lucky reader and I get to give you a sneak peek at the illustrations awaiting you! Oh yes. This is a great Monday indeed!

Skilley

Skilley is a cat with a secret. A secret that turns into a secret mission of sorts, when he joins the establishment of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn as resident mouser. You see, Skilley doesn't like mice. He's not really fond of meat at all. Skilley is a cheese-eating cat - and the Cheshire Cheese is notorious for its cheese (of course). So what's a cat to do when he's "hired" as a mouser, but doesn't like mice? Simple: Make a deal with the mice.

Enter Pip, the go-between mouse with a secret (or two?) of his own, and this adventure just got a lot more entertaining. Don't forget to toss into the mix the fact the Cheshire Cheese is a favorite haunt of writers - including Charles Dickens who is struggling to find an opening line for his next work. Oh, and things get even more interesting when Skilley discovers the source of the 'ghosty' noises in the garret and his alley cat nemesis Pinch shows up as a second mouser. This is a tale-of-many-tails that takes several twists and turns before everything comes to light and gets settled.

Pip

I'm particular about middle grades novels, but this one is wonderful. The story is engaging on multiple levels, the characters are colorful and memorable, the illustrations are pitch-perfect (not to mention adorable - you can't look at the three I've included in this post and tell me they're not cute!), and the overall design of the book matches the fun, whimsical tone of the text. I love the creative use of typography and design - adds a nice dimension to the story. There's a trace of history that appeals to my inner history geek and gives a sense of authenticity.

Book provided by publisher for review.

For More Fun:
Check out today's other blog tour stop:
From the Mixed Up Files of Jennifer Bertman
And...the totally amazing and interactive Cheshire Cheese Cat site!

Giveaway details:

Fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Rafflecopter will show your whole name you put in, so pick a nickname or etc.  
Giveaway ends at 12:01 EST on October 12th, and winner will be announced that day. Giveaway is only open to US addresses. I'm keeping it simple - but since I'm still learning Rafflecopter, let me know if it won't accept your entries, and I'll still include you in the giveaway! Good luck!