by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 06, 2010

It's the perfect picture book for children. There's bright-colored illustrations and big letters that are easy to read. But most of all, there's cats - named Nick and Nora, of course - and a story about two children who love them. "Every Sunday when my cousin Emmie comes over to my house," the book begins, "the first thing we do is go find Nick and Nora."

"It isn't always easy. They have lots of places to hide."

It's amazing how much life the illustrations add to the simple sentences. It's a bright sunny day when Emmie arrives - she's wearing an enormous sun hat, while the other girl carries a giant umbrella. They're both wearing orange sun-colored clothing, while there's yellow-gray shadows on the white house behind them. In fact, the brooding dark green of its shutters suggest extra personality, like the paintings of Edward Hopper.

And in the next illustration, the cats are hiding behind pots on a shelf!

Barry Moser drew the illustrations, but in the text, by Isabelle Harper, there's an obvious love of cats.  Harper dedicates the book to the "wonderful cats who have graced our lives." (And then she even lists out all their names - "Sam, Mehitable, Rufus, Tweed, Bib Momma, Smokey, Calhoun, Jenny-any-Dots, Minnie-One-Dot, Curtis, Dusty & Toasty, Yard Boss...") There's even a secret irony in the title, since Nick and Nora were characters in a 1934 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. 61 years later, they've became the names for a pair of inseparable cats!

The children always find the hiding cats - who seem patient, but not enthusiastic.  But they sit with cat-like indifference as the little girls "give them their lessons" - like holding up a flashcard that spells "Cat." The girls dress the cats for their birthday, and "invite all their friends" - including three big neighborhood dogs, and a parrot. There's even a drawing of their birthday party - with dogs wearing party hats, and the parrot perched on a chair. But it's later, as the girls "walk" the cats in a baby carriage, that the illustrator starts to steal the story.  The cats are still dressed in their birthday finery - but the black cat is noticeably scowling.

Harper hints that there will be trouble from a neighbor cat who is "not nice" and "likes to fight" - but now it's up to the illustrator completes the picture. Harper writes only that "sometimes Nick and Nora are not nice, either, no matter how pretty they look" - and Moser draws the cats bolting from the baby carriage. The girls have their own perspective on the cats, but they do get one thing right.

The cats will rush home, just as soon as they open a can of cat food.

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