The Cat from Hunger Mountain

Young's original fable about a wasteful "wealthy lord"-rendered in the illustrations as an anthropomorphized cat-depicts its protagonist's greed, his fall from power, and his eventual redemption. Detailed collage illustrations show the cat dressed in rich fabrics, bringing to mind Andersen's similarly vain and arrogant Emperor. The cat lounges around in his finery, makes demands, and wastes food while other animals wait on him. "When Lord Cat's servants asked if their master had finished his meal, they were scolded. 'Are you blind? Can't you see that the bowl is half-empty? Take it away.'" His downfall is sparked when a drought devastates his mountain village, bringing famine and driving all the residents away. Alone and starving, Lord Cat ventures forth to find food. Eventually, he encounters "two beggars like himself, warming themselves by the fire." Although illustrations on this spread and the next are a bit difficult to read, the text explains that the beggars tell him about a monk who feeds the hungry. When he finds the monk and takes sustenance, Lord Cat learns that the offered food is the very rice he'd wasted (washed by the river down the mountainside), and humility and gratitude intertwine in the redemptive ending. Colorful, richly textured mixed-media collages-made from fabrics, string, handmade paper, etc.-in deep hues evoke Lord Cat's life of luxury, contrasting with barren landscapes in neutral tones, under a stark white sky, that depict the famine. megan dowd lambert

Young's original fable about a wasteful "wealthy lord"--rendered as an anthropomorphized cat--depicts its protagonist's greed, his fall from power, and his eventual redemption. Colorful, richly textured mixed-media collages (made from fabrics, string, handmade paper, etc.) in deep hues evoke Lord Cat's life of luxury; in contrast, barren landscapes in neutral tones under a stark white sky depict the famine.