James Preller's Blog

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Two things upfront:

1) Jean Craighead George is an absolute legend in the field of children’s books, considered one of the all-time greats, deservedly so;

2) This book from 2003, however, was a bad idea.

Well, not the book, actually. Jean Craighead George is a brilliant writer and a keen, informed naturalist. A book about the language of cats makes a lot of sense. But somewhere along the line, somebody — an art director? — came up with a nutty idea.

And nutty is good, right? To be playful and silly and fun? Um, right?

Usually that’s okay. There’s always room for bad ideas. Because over time, they get weeded out. People come to their senses. Like this book cover, for example:

 

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I’m sorry, but that’s just wrong. 

Of course, we can understand how misguided ideas occur in the beginning. But you’d think that eventually, sooner or later . . . somebody would . . . 

Oh, nevermind.

Here’s Jean’s book, How To Talk To Your Cat. 

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I imagine the conversation went something like this . . .  

Art Director: “Hey, you know what would be soooooo cool? We could take photos of Jean interacting with cats and . . .”

Editor: “Wait, real cats?”

Art Director: “No! Illustrated cats!”

Editor: “So, like, photos of Jean Craighead George — sometimes on all fours — combined with illustrations of cats? Have I got that right?”

Art Director: “Yes, that’s it exactly!”

Editor: “Genius! But how do we talk Jean into this?”

Art Director: “Leave it to me.”

Editor: “Oh no, you’re going to give her cat nip, aren’t you?”

Art Director: “I’ll slip it in her tea.”

Editor: “Anything else?”

Art Director: “Make sure Jean wears a big bangly necklace.”

 

I don’t know. Maybe it’s me. This is a book with 70 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 1/2 stars. People love it. After all, it’s Jean Craighead George! She’s awesome. There’s great information in it, an engaging text, well organized, on a topic that any cat lover would find interesting. 

And the special effects are amazing.

 

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