Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat - Hardcover

Stephen Michael King has always drawn pictures. At primary school he was a misfit - quiet, solitary, escaping into the world of his imagination, isolated by a hearing problem that went undiagnosed for many years. Now he has found his place as a popular picture-book illustrator, with books translated into many languages.

PreSchool-Grade 3-Milli has a special gift for seeing the artful potential in ordinary, forgotten objects. She loves to "take a straight piece of wire and give it a wiggle, or a simple square of cloth and set it dancing in the wind." However, her talents are hidden as she spends her days making plain, brown shoes for the other townspeople who only want sensible things. When two traveling minstrels, Jack and the Dancing Cat, come into the woman's shop, they offer her dancing lessons in exchange for new boots. Moving her body to the "two-step," the "three-step," and the "tricky twisting backward-sliding four-step" makes Milli feel "brave and free" and gives her the courage to release her creativity. Soon she is making "curly-toed shoes covered in stars" and livening up the neighborhood with musical instruments that make "sounds that had never been heard before." King's sprightly ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture the magic of Milli's creations. A charming story that celebrates imagination and individuality.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
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