Now I have been debating whether to rate Puss in Boots with three or four stars, and have finally decided on three stars. Why for instance, would the Ogre's peasants, his serfs so to speak, automatically believe a passing cat's threats that he would have them killed if they did not tell the king that the fields belonged to the Marquis of Carabas, aka the Miller's son? And even with the king, I find it kind of hard to fathom that he would have simply accepted the Marquis of Carabas as an existing nobleman, as the king would of course and naturally know of and be familiar with his country's noblemen and women, especially someone as high born as a Marquis (but on the other hand, how the cat defeats the ogre is indeed priceless and hilarious, albeit also a tad predictable, and I do love the fact that once the miller's son has made his fortune, and marries the king's daughter, his helper, his feline companion, is not forgotten, but becomes a great lord in his own right). I have now read it in Perrault's French original, as well as in both German and English translation, and while I can appreciate the storyline to an extent, some parts have also always rubbed me the wrong proverbial way.

Although Fred Marcellino's illustrations are simply and utterly brilliant (lushly descriptive, authentically, historically 18th century French in style and movement, and more than well deserving of the Caldecott Honour Medal), I cannot say that I have ever really enjoyed Puss in Boots all that much as a tale, as a story.

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