A girl and her cat take an imaginative journey into another world where things are similar, but not exactly the same as in her world. - (Baker & Taylor)

The Caldecott Honor-, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor- and Newbery Medal-winning artist of Last Stop on Market Street presents an author-illustrator debut that invites children on a playful, imaginative journey into another world. 200,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

"A young girl and her cat take an imaginative journey into another world"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2019
An NYPL Best Book of 2019
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of 2019
A BookPage Best Picture Book of 2019
A Horn Book Fanfare Selection of 2019

In his eagerly anticipated debut as author-illustrator, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King honoree Christian Robinson brings young readers on a playful, imaginative journey into another world.

What if you"
encountered another perspective?
Discovered another world?
Met another you?

What might you do? - (Simon and Schuster)

An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019
An NYPL Best Book of 2019
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of 2019
A BookPage Best Picture Book of 2019
A Horn Book Fanfare Selection of 2019

In his eagerly anticipated debut as author-illustrator, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King honoree Christian Robinson brings young readers on a playful, imaginative journey into another world.

What if you…
encountered another perspective?
Discovered another world?
Met another you?

What might you do? - (Simon and Schuster)

Christian Robinson was born in Hollywood, California. He grew up in a small one-bedroom apartment with his brother, two cousins, aunt, and grandmother. Drawing became a way to make space for himself and to create the kind of world he wanted to see. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts and would later work with the Sesame Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios before becoming an illustrator of books for children. His books include Gaston and Antoinette, written by Kelly DiPucchio, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, and the Newbery Medal. He presently lives in northern California with his rescue greyhound Baldwin and several houseplants. He looks forward to one day seeing the aurora borealis. Visit him online at TheArtofFun.com. - (Simon and Schuster)

Booklist Reviews

A small black cat wearing a red collar and an African American girl with colorful baubles in her hair take a peek into another dimension. The cat first notices a white oval that suddenly appears in the child's bedroom as she sleeps. In that oval is an image of an identical black cat wearing a blue collar that enters the girl's room and snaps up a toy mouse lying on the bedroom rug. The child wakes in time to see her pet follow its almost duplicate into the oval, and she, in turn, follows and immediately falls into a black hole, emerging in a topsy-turvy world where things are similar, but not exactly the same, as in her world. The brightly colored illustrations pop against a pure white background. Children, some upright and some upside down, are shown in a variety of clothing and skin colors, partaking in various activities. Is this a parallel universe, or is it all a dream? Readers will decide, and a little blue mouse may help with the final decision. Preschool-Grade 2. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Robinson offers a smart, sly, and imaginative wordless story about a girl and her cat embarking on a fantastical adventure. The girl follows the cat through a portal into another dimension--and another and another, each time prompting readers to turn the book. After encountering her own double, the girl (plus cat) finally makes it back home. A subtle visual punch line at book's end will reward careful viewers. Copyright 2019 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

For his solo picture book debut, Robinson (illustrator of Last Stop on Market Street, rev. 3/15; School's First Day of School, rev. 3/16; When's My Birthday?, rev. 9/17; and more) offers a smart, sly, and imaginative wordless story about a girl and her cat embarking on a fantastical adventure. The girl is asleep in bed (on the right-hand page) when her wakeful, red-collared cat notices a white, ovular space shining from the verso. Turn the page, and there's another cat (this one in a blue collar) peeking out from that oval. The red-collared cat pursues the blue-collared one into the white space, and the girl wakes. She follows them and ends up in another dimension. At first, she appears to be sprouting from the ground through a black hole against the spread's white expanse; but her beaded braids stand up on end, defying gravity—and providing a signal to readers to flip the book over. She follows her cat through another portal (and another and another), each time prompting reorientation of the book; after encountering her own double, she and her cat finally make it back home. A subtle visual punch line at book's end, when girl and cat have returned to bed, will reward careful viewers with a laugh and a prompt to go back through the book to reassess characters' roles and motives. megan dowd lambert March/April 2019 p 67 Copyright 2019 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

A young child discovers a portal to a whole other plane of perspective in Robinson's latest. In the dark of night, a portal opens in a small girl's bedroom, the light attracting her cat. When the curious feline crawls through to chase another cat that looks just like it (but with a different color collar), the little girl cannot help but follow as well. Through the portal, the world goes topsy-turvy—up is down, right is left, and color and shape capriciously collide as the ever smiling girl and her cat move from plane to plane. The duo eventually happens upon other children, all playing with alternate versions of themselves, and after a few page turns, our protagonist—a girl of color with black, beaded braids—spots her alternate self as well. The pair share a few meaningful moments, exchanging smiles and cat toys, until eventually each returns to her bed with the small promise of further adventures to come. The simple geometry of Robinson's work comes alive in this expanse of wordless narrative. A fearless use of white space and an utter disregard of conventions of direction encourage readers to engage with the physical book as the story unfolds, touching and turning it as they literally take the narrative into their hands. A bright, open primer for Escher. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Caldecott Honor artist Robinson's wordless solo debut opens in the middle of the night, when a brown-skinned girl with beaded braids is woken by a disturbance: a black cat that looks just like hers slinks through a glowing hole in her bedroom wall, takes her cat's mouse toy, and exits. As she and her cat follow, spot illustrations on white spreads show the two in a topsy-turvy journey through portals, over a conveyer belt and Escher-like stairs, and into a ball pit. Eventually, they arrive at a place where children of many ethnicities and appearances play. Each child has "another," readers see—a double, a twin. Soon, the girl and her cat meet their own doubles, who enter upside down on the opposite page. The girl's similar returns the toy and the two part happily, order restored. Simple geometric shapes and expanses of empty space make the spreads easy to consider, and Robinson nails the pacing, using each page turn for a comic or conceptual beat. Almost all children wonder whether there are others exactly like them somewhere out in the universe, doing the same thing at exactly the same time. By playing with that idea while juxtaposing similarity and difference, Robinson creates an almost mystical Droste effect of a story that is all mirrors and windows for the group of various children who are offered portals to reach one another. He also creates a speculative world with its own logic, and an adventure that will both puzzle and amuse. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—Both beautiful and fanciful, this wordless picture book recounts the dream journey of a little girl and her cat. As she slumbers, a portal of light appears in her bedroom, and an identical black cat—with a blue rather than red collar—appears. The visitor pounces on a red toy mouse, which he snatches as he runs back from whence he came. The girl's cat follows him with his owner, now wide awake, close behind. They encounter an undulating staircase, a roomful of colorful balls, and a bright, stripy treadmill, in a world with children of all backgrounds playing together. Hobby horses, hula hoops, sidewalk drawings, jump ropes, bubbles, and books occupy the happy youngsters. Here the girl meets her alternate self in an almost identical nightshirt—sporting a blue, rather than red planet. The other child pets her cat and retrieves the coveted red mouse, tossing it to its rightful owners. They say goodbye and return through their respective portals, back to their own worlds. The girl sleeps again; the cat rests on the bed with his toy. All is as it was…or is it? Was that blue mouse on the floor always there? Vibrant shapes reminiscent of Paul Klee or Piet Mondrian fill the pages. In the bedroom world, the background is black, while the dream world is set against stark white. The endpapers are painted a deep blue with planets, stars, and moons. VERDICT A work of art and celebration of childhood for all libraries.—Barbara Auerbach, Cairo Public Library, NY