Happy Birthday To One Of My New Favorites....They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel!

One of my favorite moments of ALA Annual this summer was meeting Brendan Wenzel in the Chronicle Books booth.

My friend Lara Starr from Chronicle was so excited to share Brendan's new book They All Saw A Cat with me.

I had the best time talking with Brendan about his amazing work in this beautiful new book.  He even gave me a print and drew the coolest message. 

We have all admired Brendan's work in children's books, animations and magazines...

with one of my favorite being Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi.   If you haven't seen this one, you must check it out too. 

Today my print has a home next to They All Saw A Cat in our library at home and I couldn't be more excited to say Happy Birthday to one of my favorite new books. 

And to share it with all of you!  

In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see.  When you see a cat, what do you see? 

I love following the journey of the cat as we watch through the eyes of...

a boy,

a fish,

a snake, skunk and several others along the way.

Brendan's illustrations are absolutely breathtaking as he captures the perspective of each character perfectly.

You can find They All Saw A Cat on the Chronicle Books website here. 

They have created two wonderful resources for teacher librarians and other educators including...

 They All Saw A Cat Activity Guide...

 and They All Saw A Cat Discussion Guide.

My friend Emily Arrow also surprised all of us with a Happy Birthday treat, They All Saw A Cat Song.  

You are going to love singing along! 

Happy Birthday to your book again Brendan....This is at the top of my list for Caldecott picks this year and one that every child will love.  

And one that will hold a special place in our library forever.