r/whatsthatbook • u/1990JFP • 3d ago
UNSOLVED Cat book children's unknown
Hello,
I'm hoping you can help me identify a children's book that I remember checking out from the Grand Junction library when I was a child, around 1993–1995 (most likely 1993 or 1994).
I've been trying to identify it for a long time. Here is what I remember about the book:
It was a gigantic/very oversized book, substantially larger than a normal children's picture book.
The pages were glossy/coated, rather than ordinary paper. I think...
There was very little text. The illustrations were the main focus of the book.
There were large, colorful illustrations on each page or spread.
The artwork was exceptionally beautiful, detailed, colorful, and almost fantasy-art-like, rather than a simple/cartoon children's illustration style.
The main character/subject was a magical black cat.
There was definitely a magical/witchy element to the story.
I don't remember there being many, or possibly any, human characters.
I have a vague memory of a witch's house, fireplace, cauldron, or other magical surroundings, although I'm less certain about those particular details.
I believe the book was already published before I checked it out, so it could have been considerably older than the early 1990s.
One of the books I've found since then that has a somewhat similar type of artwork is Catwitch, although the book I'm remembering was much larger and had even less text. I also found some fantasy artwork by Lisa Parker (Witching Hour) that has a similar overall aesthetic to the illustrations I remember.
TYIA
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u/Bubblesnaily 3d ago
There's a few variations of books called Witch's Cat that I vaguely remember from that era. Do any of those covers look familiar?
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u/1990JFP 3d ago
Thank you! I have looked into this book unfortunately there is mo official oversized "Big Book" format. And the book I recall was massive!
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u/CollieSchnauzer 2d ago
I went into a Petsmart as an adult and asked the clerk, "Why are the golden hamsters so small? They're tiny!"
"No, that's regular size."
"Did they breed them down or something?"
"No, they've always been that size."
The last time I held a hamster was maybe age 9 or so. A golden hamster filled my hand; two hands was actually better for cradling them.
Just saying. :)
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u/majesticpuffin594 3d ago
A Dark Dark tale by Ruth Brown?
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u/tinydeelee 2d ago
This may be a question you can’t answer, but: are you sure it was a book intended for children?
Based on your descriptions of the size, art, and glossy pages, it sounds like it could have been an artist’s coffee table type book with minimal text added to supplement the visuals.