When a poor artist’s housekeeper brings home a cat instead of food, it seems that it won’t be long before they all starve. But their luck begins to change when the artist is commissioned to create a painting of the Buddha for their village’s temple.

Sometimes the painting came easy, sometimes it came hard; sometimes the artist was pleased with what he had done, sometimes he was disgusted.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven is a beautiful fable that gently introduces Japanese culture and Buddhist tradition for young readers. Stories are passed along as the artist paints his masterpiece, drawing inspiration from them as he works.

I am ashamed when I think that I called such a cat a goblin,” he thought. “Why, she is more virtuous than a priest.

The language, while a tad dated, is simple and easy to digest. The Cat Who Went to Heaven is slow-paced and appropriately melancholy. Interspersed with poems and short stories, the book is very much about passing along traditions. Children who enjoy classic fairy tales, fables, and myths will be delighted with this one.

⬢ ⬢ ⬢ ⬢  FOUR STARS
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