The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles De Lint (review)

When twelve-year-old Lillian is bitten by a poisonous snake in the woods, the mysterious cats who live there use their limited magic to save her, turning her into a kitten in the process. Dismayed at being stuck forever in feline form, Lillian seeks help from witch Old Mother Possum, who grants Lillian's wish by creating a reality where she was never been bitten by the snake. Unfortunately, there is an unseen consequence to her wish: her beloved aunt turns up dead of snakebite instead. A horrified Lillian seeks help to unravel the disaster, leading her on a sequence of magical encounters with ominous Aunt Nancy, the giant Bear People, and a clever fox, until she realizes she must return to Old Mother Possum to try once again to set things right. This is an expansion of the picture book A Circle of Cats (BCCB 9/03), and the elongated narrative is unfortunately long and rambling. Since the characters are essentially folkloric archetypes, there's no depth there to sustain readers through the sprawl. The premise and details of the story remain imaginative and original, however, and the aspects of Lillian's world (seemingly early nineteenth century) are effectively paired with elements of Native American mythology and American and European folklore. Vess's frequent full-color illustrations, executed in pencil and layers of colored ink washes, are striking in their woodsy tones, but the drafting of the human figures, particularly Lillian, is at times awkward, and scenes are more muddy than shadowy. Nonetheless, there is both a vintage and a modern, slightly Disney-esque vibe to the art that makes it engaging. Those willing to persevere through the rambling may find folkloric food for thought here.