Author Description

There are always cats in the garden -- fat cats, scraggy cats, smart cats, and snooty cats. Peter thinks the cats like being in the garden because here they are safe from the Great Gobbly Giant. But it is Peter's disbelieving grandmother, for whom he works in the garden to produce the fruit and vegetables for their winter store, who finds herself at the mercy of the giant. Happily, even after the giant eats up everything in her pantry, the brave cats arrive to chase him away and children from the town come offering food to save the family from winter hardship.<br> Skillfully combining traditional fairytale elements with realism, Annemarie van Haeringen has created what is indeed a tale of the cats. Her illustrations evoke vividly every variety of cat and cat expression as they stream around Grandpa as he feeds them, cavort happily in the garden, and pounce on the awful giant.<br> <br> ANNEMARIE VAN HAERINGEN lives in the Netherlands.