The Cinder-Eyed Cats

by Eric Rohmann

From the creator of the Caldecott Honor winner Time Flies , here’s a little boy’s journey to a tropical dream world. Magnificent oil paintings and rhyming text bring to life a mysterious island where cinder-eyed cats move like shadows, boats float above the ocean, whales fly across the dawn sky, and a parade of fish dances in the light of a campfire.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Cats, Poetry, Animals, Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1997

About the author

Eric Rohmann won the Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit, and a Caldecott Honor for Time Flies. He is also the author and illustrator of Bone Dog, Clara and Asha, A Kitten Tale, and The Cinder-Eyed Cats, among other books for children. He has illustrated many other books, including Last Song, based on a poem by James Guthrie, and has created book jackets for a number of novels, including His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman.

Rohmann was born in Riverside, Illinois in 1957. He grew up in Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago. As a boy, he played Little League baseball, read comic books, and collected rocks and minerals, insects, leaves, and animal skulls.

Rohmann has his BS in Art and an MS in Studio Art from Illinois State University, and an MFA in Printmaking/Fine Bookmaking from Arizona State University. He also studied Anthropology and Biology. He taught printmaking, painting, and fine bookmaking at Belvoir Terrace in Massachusettes and introductory drawing, fine bookmaking, and printmaking at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. He lives in a suburb of Chicago.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericro...

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy embarks upon a magical night-time journey in this gorgeous picture-book from Eric Rohmann, whose Time Flies was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1995. Borne away by a floating sailing ship, the boy comes to a faraway island where he creates a fantastic flying-fish sand-sculpture, encounters five tawny tigers, and is drawn into an enchanted dance - through the air? through the sea? perhaps through both, or neither? - with these cinder-eyed cats, and with all the denizens of the deep...

One of those image-rich picture-books that relies as much upon the artwork, as upon the text (minimal text, in this case), to create a gently surreal world, The Cinder-Eyed Cats has a kind of magnetic quality that draws the reader in. I can see why a fellow reviewer found the cover image compelling, as it certainly is that! Happily, the interior illustrations are just as mesmerizing. I don't know that there is much "story" here, but the reader willing to go with the flow will be rewarded with beautiful vistas, and a delightfully dream-like journey that is entirely appropriate in a bedtime book.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't ignore this book given the fabulous cover art; all those big cats staring at me, imploring me to take them home ;-) But, alas, I didn't end up liking the book all that much. Ultimately, I wavered between three and four stars, but finally leaned toward the fabulous illustrations which really are the main aspect of the story. The words, though sparse, are used well. And I do love books that celebrate imagination. But, overall, the end result here was just a bit too odd for me, I'm afraid. The ocean creatures coming out of the sea and swirling around the sky, with the four lionesses, and the little boy... I see lots of other people love this title so maybe it's just one that I don't "get" (unlike other imaginative illustrated texts I've seen) but I did love the illustrations of the cats.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this book from a long ago. Seeing it out the book shelf holding my illustrated books, it called to me again.

Lovely illustrations accompany a beautiful story of a young boy who flies above the water in a sail boat, landing on a faraway land where at twilight magical events occur. The sand does not contain castles, rather, there is a large image of a fish that comes awake as images of five cinder eyed cats romp in the sand with the fish in the twilight moon.

Thousands of fish are called from the deep and spin round and round as the sand and wind accompany them in their dance of color round the fire in the darkest time of night. And, at the first break of dawn, the fish return to the depths of the sea as the boy hops back into his flying sail boat and the land and sea sleep until they are awakened another night.

[Jackie "the Librarian" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art and a dreamy story of a flying boat bringing a pajama-clad boy to an island with cats, leading to a dance in the sky with fish.
Not much story, but who cares? If you like cats, you will love this book!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Rohmann talks about his passion for telling stories through pictures that he started developing as a young child. https://www.ericrohmann.com/pages/abo...
Here some amazing paintings take a boy on a journey of imagination to a far away tropical island where big cats with cinder eyes dance with creatures from the sea at night and sleep all day. Sailing boats in the sky, sand sculptures that come alive, schools of fish swim in the sky, and little boy sets sail again at the first flash of dawn. The swirling fish look like the beautiful displays we see in an aquarium, and the landscapes resemble our imagined far away lands with infinite beaches and palm trees...

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, really for the artwork. Beautiful illustrations taking a small boy through a fantasy dream world. Not really a storytime book - the text is a bit too sparse and a bit too surreal for my usual toddler and preschool crowds - but it could definitely be one to recommend as a bedtime book or for older picture book readers who simply love the artwork. Plus, as a cat person... those eyes! Just lovely.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stars for the story, and five for the illustrations. I really thought the art in this book was gorgeously done. The story is interesting in a fantasy sort of way. The animals come out of the sea at night to play in the sky. The illustrations are wonderful.

[Carolyn Jeziorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have Eric Rohmann at our school this month. This book is very fantastical—sparked great discussions when I read it aloud. The students really liked the cats and wanted to know what type they were.

[Darlene Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous illustrations are suitable for framing. The story is less remarkable, but it takes place in the main character's imagination so applying your own imagination will expand the story to make it even better.

[Rudolph Ronswik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning imagery. This is the most beautiful children's book I have ever read. I hope one day to own it, though it's out of print and as a result unfairly pricey.

I would categorize this as a "goodnight moon" like, since its focus is on its imagery rather than its story.

[Danielle]

This was not what I expected it to be. This was a random pick from the library, and based on the cover alone, I thought it would be something different. What I got was a whimsical adventure with fantastical illustrations.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art! It doesn't make a ton of sense but that's OK. Short on words, which can also be a good thing.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 2 out of 5]

203/365

[Sarah Chaplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite favorite favorite book as a kid.

[Raraanir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely awesome.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

every illustration in this book could (should) be a poster or jigsaw puzzle

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little tricky to read out loud, but it’s a pleasant challenge. The illustrations are fun.

[Alexandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Cinder-Eyed Cats, is an oil paintings picture book that follows a young boy and his flying sailboat on a magical journey to a mysterious island. When night falls the island transforms and all its dwellers come to life. It is a time when sea creatures rise from the deep and get a chance to join the world above. The playful cats with their cinder eyes ablaze join the young boy and sea creatures on magical night around the fire; full dance, laughter, and adventure all enjoy the enchanted night until the break of day. The author’s use of language and style has a rhythm that matches the mystery of the story to a tee. One of my favorite pages is the one that states, “Growls and laughter echo in the deepest dark of night, and fishes round the fire spark like cats’ eyes in the light”. In the illustration that supports this passage, the fish are flying around the fire creating the very image of a glowing eye, similar those of the cinder cats.

This story is one that requires the reader to have a vivid imagination. Although beautifully written and illustrated it is not one of my favorite pieces from Rohmann. To be honest, I find the story to be a little strange. The cats seem to always be lurking and watching the readers with their eyes; hidden in the plants of the island you can always spot their tails. I just wonder what Eric was thinking when he wrote this book; why are the sea creatures coming out of the sea, why are cats living on an island, does the boy come back? What inspired him to write this?

Uses in the Classroom:

The rhythm of this book is very poetic. That being said, a great activity for students to do would be to have them create their own poem (using any style: free verse, haiku, limerick, concrete, etc.) that reflects any part of this book. For example students can write a poem about the boy’s boat, the cinder-eyed cats, or even about the sea creatures.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Use your imagination and let this book take you away. The pictures are amazing and with the text, I loved this book. Not a lot of depth in the book but if you let your imagination go, you can walk away with a lot from this book and as an adult, I did. The first couple pages have no written words but show a boy sailing a ship in the sky landing on a peaceful, sandy island. He builds a huge sand fish and falls asleep beside it. In twilight, lions “cats like velvet shadows move, their coal-fire eyes ablaze.” come upon the boy and his magical sand fish. The sand fish comes alive and it plays with the lions and the boy. Other creatures from the ocean join the party and it is like an underwater fish tank with the lions and the boy. The pages are bright and brilliant; the story takes on a rhythm as the fish swim and sway. As the sun begins to shine, the water settles and the creatures head back out into the sea, the boy heads to his ship to sail home and the cats settle down on the sand to sleep their day away. What a busy night!!
Ages: Kindergarten - 3rd grade

[Rilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Cinder-Eyed Cats” is a magical story that begins with a boy flying through the air in a sailboat to an enchanted island inhabited by giant cats with glowing eyes. When the sun sets, the island transforms. A sand fish comes to life and all of the creatures of the ocean spring into the night sky where they float and frolic with the boy and the cats. The illustrations of this book are full of detail and fantasy that takes the reader on an exciting imaginary journey.

Since this book is full of creativity and imagination, it would be an excellent subject for poetry. Students could choose any part of this story that interested them and from this inspiration they would write their poem. They can use any poetry style.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art, but very little substance.

[Giulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. Bought it for our school library, to beef up our reading strategy section, and I didn't really know what it was about. I read it recently to our primary students, and I love how this book gets them thinking! They ask all sorts of questions about what's going on in this story, and come up with all sorts of theories. The pictures are breathtaking and the lack of text for the first few pages gets the kids' imaginations juiced up right from the beginning. One my grade twos said, "this is a magic book" and any book that catches a child's imagination that way certainly is in my books!

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice pictures, but rather aimless. What do these cats and the fish have to do with each other? The only logical thing would be for the cats to eat up all those fish. That I could understand. As it is, it just doesn't make sense. Apparently it's (mostly) all a dream, except for the fact that the flying boat isn't part of that dream. The big friendly cats aren't part of the dream either. Huh? If you live in a magical world already, what is such a big deal about having a dream about lots of wacky fish? You would think there would be so much more out there for you. The text is kind of dopey, with stale predictable rhymes.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this surreal dreamscape story... I’m just disappointed that the rest of the illustrations don’t live up to the glorious, captivating cover art, which is one of my favorite children’s book images ever. Don’t get me wrong, the others are excellent illustrations too, but the cats become more cartoony and generic and lose a lot of their magic, moreso on some pages than others. And the sand fish is a wonderful idea but kinda looks like a giant goldfish cracker.

This probably isn’t going to matter to most kids and it’s still a great book.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

eric rohman is an incredible artist. i'd recommend any of his children's books. this one was the first of his that i read. rohman uses very few words in his books and instead lets his paintings tell the story. in this case it is about a boy who goes to sleep and is whisked away dreamily on a sail boat that flies to distant island where he meets sharks, panthers, whales, and all kinds of other creatures.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very vivid picture book. I thought the story was a little odd but I enjoyed the illustrations. It has few words but the content of the beautiful illustrations tell a story of their own. It is about a little boy who goes on an adventure in his dreams. It is a great book and I could really see younger kids and older kids alike enjoying its imagery. It would be a good book to use during a book about using picture clues to tell the story.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book of one boy's trip through Dreamland and the creatures that inhabit it.

This is a wonderfully written book that has the same lyrical tone as "The Owl and the Pussycat". The words are simple yet strongly suggestive, which conjures up the magic.

At the same time the pictures carry you off to a bright and warm world where the sky is the same as the sea. A place that has cat-formed mountains and living, sand.

This will be an adorable addition to young libraries

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore this book. I find it absolutely enthralling.

I love the quiet poetry, the calm illustrations, the strange details (flying sail boats? A sand fish (that looks like a cat on the side) that comes to life?) - everything.

Unfortunately, my nieces (5 and 2.5) don't love it quite as much as I do. Maybe they'll grow into it? I suspect they find it somewhat lacking in story.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative, life-like illustrations accompany this fantasy picture book about cinder-eyed cats. Magical deep-sea creatures rise from the waters during moonlit nights. When a young boy visits this magical place, he becomes part of this mystical, magical display.


Used for "Magical Mermaids and Other Sea Creatures" storytime- July, 2010.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure exactly what I think about this book. The illustrations are stunning and the imagination that went into this was endless. The thing that didn't seem right was the combination the ocean life and the weird "cinder-eyed cats." What did they have to do with each other? Did I miss something??