Hans and Matilda

by Yokococo

A comical tale of naughty and nice with a surprising twist!

Matilda is a very good girl. She likes to read and water her flowers. Hans is very naughty. He makes too much noise and is always causing trouble! When Hans lets the animals out of the zoo, a reward is offered for his capture. Matilda tells the police where he will be, but when they catch Hans and take off his mask, they find something quite surprising!

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Humor, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Yokococo (Yoko Shima) is a Japanese author and illustrator. She studied English literature in Kyoto before teaching English. She moved to the U.K. to study illustration at the Cambridge School of Art and is now the creator of several children’s books.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about a cat called Matilda who was very good and a cat called Hans who was bad. they turn out to be the same cat. Despite vandalising someone's house and other crimes Matilda says she won't do it again unless she is being Hans I couldn't see the point to this book.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun illustrations with a twist at the end! never underestimate the "quiet" types ;)

[ANg · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH dear goodness, i am in LOVE with children books!
This one grabbed my heart and i will be looking for others by this author.I chuckled outloud. Its about Matilda the good cat and Hans the mischievous cat.
The art is simple and bright and fun. Easy to read and to follow and
has a wonderful gigglily ending.

[Amy Hesterman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Split personality cat turns herself in to cat authorities after she can't control her mischievous ways. After she turns herself in, her alter ego starts committing the same type of acts. Nothing really edifying here for children.

[Aaron Wyckoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matilda is a very good cat, but Hans is very naughty. Yet somehow, when Hans goes too far and a reward is offered for information about him, Matilda knows exactly where he can be found. In Matilda and Hans, Yokococo masterfully blends a simple story with striking illustrations. While the story teaches the basic principles of naughty and nice, it also shows that everyone contains at least a little bit of both. Matilda and Has makes a great read-aloud for preschool children.

[Marika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matilda is a perfectly good child. Hans is a total terror. These two couldn't be more different. When Hans releases all the animals from the zoo, Matilda does what any good citizen would and turns him in. How did Matilda know who did this deed? When Hans pulls off his mask, all will be revealed! Delightful fun from beginning to surprising end, kids will be clamoring for you to "read it again!"

[Melisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn't everyone just want to break all the rules sometimes? That inner child dying to do something bad is always squashed. Unless you are Matilda. I'd like to be Matilda for a day. And Hans too.

Recommended because of it's charming art, lovely text and message for preschoolers that being good all the time is impossible.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable story of a good little girl and her poorly behaved acquaintance, Hans. The illustrative technique is clean, un-cluttered and engaging. While young listeners/ readers may guess the surprise, they will be tickled nonetheless.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little Matilda and her naughty alter ego.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect niece-gift book...especially because the naughty cat has my name.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good in every way.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever kitty.

[Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Poundland find - and my local Poundland actually sells items at 90p so - bargain!

The illustrations are strikingly simple - mainly in black/white and primary colours. This is eye-catching and IMHO more likely to appeal to young children than the sometimes insipid pastels so often used in little girls' books.

The story has a moral, as so many children's books do, but it isn't one which strives for the unattainable. It teaches that no one is all good or all bad, a lesson plenty of adults could do with learning.

Plus, it's about CATS. I love cats.

All told a successful children's book. It seems rather a shame actually that it's been relegated to Poundland's shelves.

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about naughty and nice. And how one person can be both.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

basically fight club.

[Kona · Rating 2 out of 5]

good book because the book of story was different types

[Rachel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quirky and adorable! I enjoyed the contrast between characters and the plot twist reveal at the end. I would use it to discuss morality in a classroom or expectations!

[Lorna Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hans and Matilda are cats that are very different from each other. Matilda is very well behaved and everyone else thinks so too. Hans is always getting into trouble and people tell him off a lot. One day, Hans gets into a bit too much trouble and Matilda offers to help sort this out, revealing a strange twist to the tale.

After reading an article about gender representation in picture books and how female characters are often underrepresented, Hans and Matilda was mentioned as a good example of showing a balanced portrayal of both genders. So, I bought the book out of curiosity because I was interested to see how gender had been represented so successfully and I was not disappointed! The story is very empowering for young female readers (probably without them realising!) with its modern themes and humour. Boys are likely to find much enjoyment in the story too. Something for everyone!

The illustrations are great as well, the author/illustrator is Japanese, so the illustrations have a really cute feel to them that children will like. The colours used are also very gender neutral, primary colours and greys, which work really well and is very appealing to look at.

Key Stage 1 and early Key Stage 2 are the best suited readers for Hans and Matilda, as it is not a very wordy story, yet it is easily accessible. This book would be great shared as a class because it is a very upbeat story that everyone can appreciate. It reads aloud really nicely and in my opinion, I think it would be best enjoyed being read this way.

[librarianemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matilda is a good little cat, and Hans is anything but! After Hans breaks into the zoo and sets all the animals free, Matilda sees a "Wanted" poster with Hans' face on it. She goes to the police and exchanges information about Hans' plans for that night for reward money. The police nab Hans, and it's Matilda in disguise! After her capture, Hans stops acting out but Matilda doesn't! The illustrations are great- clear, colorful, and whimsical. A great story for young children, it shows that mischievous streaks exist even in the best behaved, people and cats alike.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matilda is a good little cat. Hans is terrible! One night, Hans freed all the animals in the zoo. The next day, the police offered a reward for information on Hans. Matilda told them exactly where Hans would be that night. When the police caught Hans, they took off his disguise to discover that Matilda was Hans! She told them that Hans would never be bad again and asked kindly for the reward money.

Cute and funny for preschool storytimes.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matilda is a very good cat. She likes to sit quietly and read or water her flowers. Hans is very naughty. He makes too much noise and paints graffiti on the walls. When Hans goes too far and lets the animals out of the zoo, a reward is offered for information about him. What happens when Hans is finally caught?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very surprising story! And one that relates to children quite well, for they are prone to both acts of goodness and of mischievousness. The colour scheme is well thought out, reflecting on the nature of the acts on the page.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining tale about two different cats: one good and one naughty. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are comical and cartoonish. The ending is a bit predictable, although I'm not sure our girls saw it coming. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. While I was reading this, I wondered if Yokococo had been secretly following me around to gain inspiration for her next picture book because I was thinking this was representing both sides of me pretty damn accurately ;-) The ending was brilliant. Loved it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few picture books manage to really surprise me, but this one did. Anytime a picture book has a plot twist, I'm in!

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple look at being good and being bad with a fun twist in the end.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see what you did there, Matilda. Cutie-cute-cute.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about two cats- a fogs one and a bad one. Nice twist at he and of the story that will get a reaction out of young readers.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great twist ending, Fight Club-style.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and clever. Adorable illustrations.