Review - The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen

The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
by Susan Schaefer Bernardo
illustrated by Courtenay Fletcher
Date: 2019
Publisher: Inner Flower Child Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

The Artist Who Loved Cats is a picture book biography of artist Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, the creator of iconic French "Chat Noir" posters.

When Antoinette notices a little bronze cat in the window of her favorite Parisian antique store, she begs the shopkeeper Monsieur Arvieux and his clever cat Noir to tell her all about the artist. Steinlen moved to Paris in 1881 to pursue his artistic dreams, ultimately creating not just the iconic Chat Noir posters but also more than 700 journal illustrations, famous posters, sculptures, cartoon strips and paintings. Many of Steinlen's artworks feature cats, his favorite subject. Delightful verse, a sweet sprinkling of French vocabulary, and lovely illustrations by the award-winning team of author Susan Schaefer Bernardo and artist Courtenay Fletcher bring art history to life.

More than just a biography, The Artist Who Loved Cats is a celebration of art, inspiration, and following your heart to create a life that you love!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a decent picture-book biography, written in rhyming verse, about Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, an artist perhaps best well known for his Chat Noir posters.

The illustrations are cute and the rhyming verse works most of the time (although the meter is off in many places), but I don't feel like I really got a feel for who this guy was. An artist, yes. But aside from a few mentions of struggle, we don't see much about it, and so it's difficult to see why his story is "inspiring". There were many starving artists in Montmartre in the late 1800s, so I would've liked to know what made Steinlen unique. (Perhaps it was the fact that he lived in a house with his family and 56 cats. I really hope that number is an exaggeration.)

I'm not sure who this book is supposed to appeal to. It's not really about cats, despite what the cover might suggest. And as a biography of a historical figure, it's a little bit on the weak side. (At the end, we're shown drawings of famous historical figures that we were supposed to notice as we read through the book. I would've preferred to read more about them in the text, seeing their relationship to Steinlen, rather than just having them as "Where's Waldo?" set pieces.)

The premise is good, but I don't think the execution quite gets there. There's nothing really wrong with this little biography; I just wanted a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inner Flower Child Books for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.14 out of 5