Black Cat Nino

Author: Heide Heesch (Germany) Buchez Illustration
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Buchez, a German illustrator renowned in the Western world, truly demonstrates his skill in the illustrations. Similarly, Heide Heesch, also a German, is an excellent storyteller. He describes the trivial matters of a cat with great enthusiasm. How fresh the air is! The air of the night, filled with the sounds and scents that Nino needs, likes, and is familiar with. He is eager to explore this place where he will spend the rest of his life. In Italy, he can distinguish the sound of chickens scratching and the soft cooing in his sleep. He can smell the woodsmoke from the farm chimneys, the damp smell of a dog's fur, hear the chirping of field mice, and the footsteps of other cats moving around him. His view of donkeys is that they are always thinking about working hard and grinding, and they always try to solve the world's problems in foolish ways. But here, he is completely unfamiliar. He sits quietly, his green eyes round and round, his tail placed on his paws, his whiskers trembling slightly, his heart pounding. But not with excitement, but quietly listening to the sounds and smelling the scents. He is fully focused, using all his senses to deeply experience this new environment.
Black Cat Nino tells the story of a clever and brave black cat who conquers all the animals on the farm and a German couple with his mischievous charm. Nino is unwilling to stay in the enclosed Italian farm and tries to convince the German couple to take him away. He uses various tricks and acts cute to win their favor, eventually accompanying them and his slightly dim-witted sister, Rosa, on a journey to Germany. There, he enjoys a better life and lives a happy life. However, as time passes, when Rosa passes away, Nino also grows old. He decides to return to his hometown of Italy to spend the next chapter of his life, much like how life circles back to its starting point.
Black Cat Nino has received almost every major illustration award in the world, such as The New York Times Best Illustrated Book, The German Picture Book Award, The Best Children's Book Award at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair, The Mountain Cat Award, The German Youth Literature Prize, The Golden Medal Award at the Bratislava International Illustration Biennial, and The Toei Prize for Illustration. Forty-six renowned writers from different countries around the world, including Milan Kundera, have specifically written texts to accompany Buchez's illustrations.