I can't say enough good things about this book! I have recommended it to everyone who has presents to buy for children or cat-lovers. This sumptuous book combines costume drama with art while having a plot line that is mild enough for children, yet with undertones that adults will enjoy. The art, like many of the subtleties of the text, are probably over the heads of many youngsters, but they will love what they do "get."
This book can be read aloud to pre-schoolers (my 4 year old loved it), or handed to older readers. Unlike many read-aloud books, this one can hold the adult's interest, too.
The art involves taking many pictures, of setting, costume and cats, and then super-imposing them upon each other. The illustrators then adjusted the pictures so that they look more like baroque paintings, and added fillips of whimsy.
I see good books and bad as a reviewer; the bad I reject, but their effects can linger. This one is a gem, and thank goodness for it. It was a joy to read, and it's a treat to be able to recommend it to you.
The collaborative work of Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, Bohemian Cats is a wondrous storybook, with text simple enough to be accessible to children yet so fantastic that it is sure to appeal to all ages. Every page of this stunningly delightful fairy tale features charming, full-color, photographic illustrations of rambunctuous felines who ruled a distant land called Bohemia. No live cats were harmed or even inconvenienced in the making of Bohemian Cats, which applies digital technology to photographs of cats and environments to create the lustrous, puss-n-boots style images of felines in royal garb. An absolute "must-have" for true ailurophiles, and a dazzling treasure to simply page through.