Black Cat, White Cat: a minibombo book

by Silvia Borando

Day and night, black and white--this playful tale of opposite personalities celebrates the adventure of sharing life's discoveries with a friend.

Black Cat--black from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail--only ever goes out in the day. But White Cat--white from her whiskers to her four furry paws--only ever goes out at night. He picks daisies, while she gazes at the stars. When they both feel the urge to explore a world beyond their own, Black Cat and White Cat go on a journey of discovery and meet for the very first time. Vividly illustrated with bold black-and-white art, each page paves the way toward a surprise (and surprisingly colorful) ending.

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

36 pages, Board Book

First published January 29, 2014

About the author

Silvia Borando works as a visual designer for Studio Tiwi, where she loves to explore her great passion for color. She also heads up minibombo, a children’s publishing house based in Italy that brings together a love of stories, illustration, and interactivity to create innovative graphic picture books. She lives in Italy.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo chose this one for all its contrasting greatness! Black Cat loves life, roaming around all day and enjoying his days. White Cat has always roamed around at night, enjoying the darkness. Both ask their respective friends what it is like being awake during the opposite time, but no answers are forthcoming. Black Cat learns to try night life while White Cat learns what it is like to play in the sun. They meet and are soon inseparable, playing day and night. There is another surprise to come, but you'll have to read to find out. Neo liked the contrasting colours and ideas in this book, thinking that it would be fun for the new reader and the child who likes interesting illustrations.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful juxtaposition with a charming surprise ending.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opposite storytime!

[Lisa Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable! I saw a cat book on the new book shelf and had to read it at once. This is a cute quick book that I could see my girls loving. I am really digging this new trend of minimal coloring on the pages. I also LOVE the surprise at the end of the book.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, sweet and clever. A great read aloud for bedtime.

[Matteo Fumagalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Videorecensione: https://youtu.be/pnBCF-npgDU

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

kisk večírek priniesol aj takéto prekvapenia :D

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a talented author/artist to use such a simple palette so effectively--everything is black/white except for on the final page.
And I won't reveal what's on the last page, since it basically is a punchline, though perhaps Black Cat should be wondering what White Cat is doing in her spare time. :D

[Cecilia Ayard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Black Cat, White Cat" is a cute story to read. It shares the story of a white cat who is only out at night and a black cat who is only out in the day. These two cats cross paths when the white cat wants to see daytime and the black cat wants to see nighttime. The use of two simple colors, white and black, makes the illustrations pop out and highlight the difference between the two cats without much detail. The storyline is fairly simple, as it is the same for both cats, just with a slight change in wording to match their color and time of day, but it is a cute book! The surprise at the end caught me completely off guard! I enjoyed the end because of the contrast, and the color change. I am sure it would be a nice surprise for younger children as well! It is a simple book, yet it is fun to read!

[Han Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a book in only black and white. Color is the main factor of this postmodern book. The book tells a story that there is a black cat and a white cat who only appear on days or nights. They never see each other until finally, they want to explore the exchange world at night or day. Then they meet and have six orange kittens. Honestly speaking, I don't know why the color of the kitten is orange but I think indeterminism is one of the character of postmodern books. But the book gives me a feeling of "not ending", so I'm not that into it. But still, the using of color is really cute!

[Toni Varney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very simple yet extremely enjoyable. The minimalist illustrations and simple colors make the book easy to follow and engaging. The book had a unique format and the illustrations were gorgeous while still being simple. I like the concept of the cats breaking out of their comfort zones to explore what they're missing only to end up finding each other and helping one another to explore the new spaces.

[Kiernan Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books artwork is in between the other two picture books. There are things to look at on each page, but the attention is meant to be more on the text. However, these pictures do carry more of a surrealistic feel to them. This postmodern book highlights the different perspectives of animals in general, and more specifically the two different cats.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not see the twist ending coming!

Little kids, especially newborns, would go for the color scheme and artwork, but the punchline at the end went way over the head of my 2.9 year old.

[Natalie Fosdick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great book that relies on the words and illustrations because there is no color on any of the pages except the last one. You get to follow the story of two cats who lead very different lives, one in the day, and one in the night. This story is a postmodern book because it has two characters telling two different stories at the same time. I think this would be the perfect book to have in a kindergarten classroom and it would add some diversity to the bookshelf. I really liked this book because both the cats only lived in one color until they met and then they had six orange kittens which showed what can happen when you get our of your comfort zone.

[Zoe Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

very cute! unexpected ending

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple easy reader that is a study in contrasts in both color and time of day. Each cat learns to appreciate the other's world. I was disappointed that the story ended with a litter of kittens. I would have thought we'd be past the "surprise! kittens!" trope by now.

[EleonoraF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breve e semplice racconto, corredato da teneri disegni, per introdurre ai più piccini il concetto di diversità e, soprattutto, di convivenza delle differenze.

Recensione sintetica: ok

[Maija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations but it's really important to spay and neuter your pets! Also, I was hoping the kittens would look like Shelby.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, simple, charming. Loved the ending: I was actually surprised.

Library copy

[Kate Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book to calm my toddler down before bed.

[K8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photogen and Nyceteris with cats, but less creepy.

[Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprising and cute.

Recommended.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Cat, White Cat by Silvia Borando has as much to say about race relations as it does about breaking out of our shells to explore how the other half is. Unlike the Country Mouse City Mouse story, which has everyone comfy back where they started from, this book honors the other side as often better than our own sheltered existence, which is infinitely more empowering. Black Cat has never known the night, White Cat has never seen day. Black and White meet, Black shows White what day is, White shows Black the night, until both are equally comfy in both worlds. A truly loving kid's book where cool cats (AKA people) can find out that we all belong, and you don't need Michael Jackson to feel belonging regardless if you're black or white. All cats of color belong in the same cat house, which makes up our universe. Those who are in denial.... are just bad dogs.
Four stars
Black and White, let's Cat Together!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Cat only goes out during the day while White Cat only goes out during the night, and the two meet when they want to discover the opposite time of day.

This picture book depicts a friendship between two different characters and features opposites (black and white, night and day). It encourages young readers to be curious and explore as well as to be open to interacting with people from different cultures.

Instead of the classic moral that everyone is more the same than different, the story shows two different characters engaging in mutual experiences. It ends with a twist/joke, asking the reader what color s/he thinks Black Cat’s and White Cat’s kittens are. Rather than black and white or gray, the kittens are orange. The answer is actually foreshadowed in the title’s comma.

The illustrations provide black and white visual stimulation, which aids in small children’s brain develop.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concept board book with an actually story line – yay! This Italian import told with simple black and white art tells the tale of two cats. Black cat, on a white background, only goes out in the day. White cat, on a black background, only goes out at night. They each set out to see the part of the day that is unknown to them, only to meet – presumably at dawn or dusk! They decide to show each other the wonders of their preferred time. They become friends and have kittens, which are [spoiler alert!] orange, providing the only other color in the story. It’s a sweet tale, no drama, but providing flora and fauna in silhouette for little listeners to point out, and a satisfying ending. And it’s actually long enough to use for story time.

[Fairytalesforallchildren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosa succede quando si incontra il gatto nero con il gatto bianco? La tenera storia quasi tutta biancanera ce lo dice naturalmente alla fine. Prima però, ci farà conoscere il gatto nero che esce solo nella notte e la gatta bianca che, al contrario, esce solo durante giorno. Quando si incontrano, viceversa si faranno conoscere i loro mondi diversi, ma nello stesso tempo uguali. E da quel momento diventano inseparabili. Il gatto nero, la gatta bianca è un libro perfetto per far conoscere la diversità ai più piccoli. Semplice storia con l'idea per niente facile, nonostante tutto importante da affrontare.

[Kokelector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Al libros hermosos por el simple hecho que nos cuentan una historia fácil y concreta, y este libro hace ello y todo protagonizado por un gato negro y una gata blanca, uno sale de noche y la otra de día: ¿podrán coincidir?

De ese simpleza que cala en tu corazón y te permitirá experimentar con la literatura infantil y que es para todas las edades, de los 0 a 99 años de edad.

Si puedes hacerte con él, no lo dudes, puede transformarse en el favorito de alguien.

Puedes encontrarlo aquí.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple story about a black and a white cat who each live in their own world (day and night, respectively), but meet when they become curious about what else is out there. The charm is in the simple story telling and the black and white illustrations. I loved the balance between the pictures.
Used this with a storytime on day/night (would also be good for storytime on cats, pets, animals, etc.). Paused at the end to have the kids guess how the kittens looked - no one guessed the right color, and many giggles at the surprising kittens :)

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful picture book by Silvia Borando benefits from its clear -- and interesting -- central premise.

Likewise, Silvia Borando has created the perfect illustrations for this sweet little book for very young children: Simple and adorable.

It's a wonderful tale of friendship and discovery, just simple enough, and sustained by a contagious sense of wonderment at life in this amazing world.

As for the ending, it's simply delightful.

Thank you, Silvia Borando.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Cat only ventures out during the day and White Cat only ventures out during the night. Each cat is curious about the part of the day they don't visit. When the cats meet in the middle when visiting the opposite time of day they decide to introduce each other to their favorite things. They become such great friends that they have kittens together. Guess what color?