THREE SAMURAI CATS.by Eric A. Kimmel

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kimmel, Eric A. 2003. .THREE SAMURAI CATS.  Ill by Mordicai Gerstein. New York, NY: Holiday House. ISBN 08234174250823417425

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

A daimyo, a powerful lord, had a rat that terrorized everyone in the castle.   The daimyo went to the dõchõ, the senior monk, for a samurai cat to help force the rat to leave.   The first samurai cat was defeated and the dõchõ sent another samurai cat.  The second cat was a strong, mighty warrior but he was also defeated by the rat.   The third samurai cat was old, decrepit and blind in one eye.  This cat seemed useless since it just slept, ate and ignored the rat.  During the Obon Festival, the rat decided to take all the sticky rice balls and make a giant rice ball.   As the rat was rolling the rice ball, he tripped and got stuck under the rice ball.   The wise old Samurai cat then took this opportunity to defeat the rat when the rat was helplessly stuck under the rice ball.  

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book resonates with the theme of the strongest does not win.  As the dõchõ explains in the book, “The first two cats tried to overcome the rat with force.  Neko Roshi, on the other hand, allowed his opponent to defeat himself.”  This twist of the two strong cats being defeated while the last old, feeble cat defeats the rat is the twist that makes this story stand out.  

The illustrations are done in a comic-like format.  Mordicai Gerstein used pen, ink, and oil paint on vellum paper when doing the illustrations.  The characters wear traditional Japanese garments and the buildings are also Japanese.   At the end of the book, the author explains some of the Japanese words and gives some background information on Samurai, etc.   Some of the reviews recommend the book for PK-2^nd or PK-3^rd grade but I believe the vocabulary is too much for PK and Kindergarten students.   With all the Japanese terms, PK and Kindergarten students will have a hard time understanding what is going on and will lose interest.  

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links, 2003

School Library Journal, 2003

Horn Book Magazine, 2003

Kirkus Reviews, 2003

5. CONNECTIONS

*  A great book to use with a lesson on Japan. 

*Have students compare and contrast the books: THREE SAMURAI CATS and THE THREE LITTLE PIGS.