Shibu's tail by Tess Thomas. Illus. by Kamwei Fong

A wonderful tale of a cat with the most demonstrative of tails, which twitches and shakes, grows and shrinks, curls and knots, reflecting the very strong emotions he has. When he is fearful, his tail provides a protective wall to hide behind, the hair on his tail stands on end when he is cross, the tail makes a heart shape when he feels loving, a question mark when he is confused. Sometimes when he is sick, his tail is bandaged, when he is tired the tail folds around him. But one day he notices that the other cats are watching him. They do not need to show their emotions in the way that he does, they keep their emotions in some order. Shibu does not like being the centre of attention, so he tries to control his emotions and his tail. He ignores the milk truck, but when he breaks his favourite toy, his anger grows and grows. He tries very hard to ignore the lightning and thunder but because he does not share his feelings, he becomes worried and scared.  All of the emotions he feels build up, until one day they all crash out together, and Shibu realises that holding his emotions inside does not work.

A picture book about the importance  of being yourself, of sharing what you feel with others, of not holding things inside, will find a place with readers. The humour behind the cat’s antics has huge appeal, the cat mirroring the things they sometimes feel but are unable to express. Children will be able to formulate their ideas paralleling the cat and his emotions, and share their feelings just like Shibu.

Tess Thomas lives in New Jersey, and loves fresh ideas, very evident in this book.

Kamwei Fong is a Malaysian artist who uses the most incredible of techniques to create his cat images. Lines of black ink build up the intricate coat of Shibu. A short clip of his technique can be seen here.

Themes: Feelings, Emotions, Sharing, Humour.

Fran Knight