From three time Caldecott winner David Wiesner comes this complex, funny, richly imagined picture book called MR. WUFFLES! It's somewhat wordless, with only a few overtures from the cat's human (the artist himself?) when he tries to engage Mr. Wuffles with a new toy, a few "mrowwws" from Mr. Wuffles himself, and a whole lot of indecipherable alien and ant conversation.
The sequential art tells a detailed story of aliens, ants, and one very helpful ladybug carrying on right under the nose of the oblivious human. Mr. Wuffles spurns his new toy to pounce on a tiny silver spaceship, sending the aliens into a tizzy. Some of their equipment is damaged, so they make a run for a gap in the wainscoting, looking for help. Aliens and ants team up to drive Mr. Wuffles batty.
There's a lot going on here. Mr. Wiesner seems to have spent a lot of time studying his own Mr. Wuffles, and his depictions of the kitty are wonderful. He's captured the feline in both looks and attitude. My favorite is near the end, when (SPOILER ALERT) the aliens have just flown out the window, and Mr. Wuffles is left clinging there, looking rather peeved.
With the kind of attention to detail that the artist brings to this project (and all his others) I've been wondering if he made up an actual alien language that might be deciphered. I haven't taken the time to try, but I wonder if some young reader might.
Cats, aliens, a world where tiny creatures exist (mostly) undetected within our own, beautiful art, detailed comic book style panels, a clueless adult--what's not to love?
--Lynn
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