Review of Three Samurai Cats

Bibliography

Kimmel, Eric. Three Samurai Cats, A Story From Japan. Illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein.  New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-439-69256-3

Plot Summary

A rat has made himself at home in the castle.  The daimyo, or lord,  tries to poison the rat, trap it, and even the guard dogs can’t scare it away.  The daimyo rides to the shrine asking the docho for help.  The docho sends him a samurai cat skilled in fighting to defeat the rat.  The rat outwits the samurai cat and he leaves in disgrace.  The docho sends another samurai cat, this one ever bigger and a better fighter, but the rat wins the fight again.   Next the docho sends the third samurai cat.  This one, he claims, is the greatest living master of martial arts.  The most decrepit cat the daimyo has ever seen arrives.  He states that he can get rid of the rat but the daimyo must not interfere.  The cat ignores the rat.  The rat gets bolder and bolder, disrupting and taking over even more of the castle.  The cats patience finally pays off when the rat gets himself stuck under a giant rice ball.  The samurai cat agrees to help free the rat  but the rat must agree to leave the castle.  In the end the rat’s greed was his own downfall.
 

Critical Analysis

This is a cultural folk tale from Japan.  It is a trickster tale in which the third samurai cat used patience and wit to outsmart the rat.   The third samurai cat doesn’t fight the rat but waits for the rat’s greed to get him in trouble and then uses it against him to make him leave the castle.  The story has a japanese zen like theme, sometimes fighting isn’t the answer and patience and brains can win in the end.

The illustrations are pen and ink with oil paint on heavy vellum paper giving is an almost watercolor effect.  This book was published in 2003 but it has an old feeling to it to make it fit in with the ancient japanese folk tale.  I thought the illustrations were a little too jagged and busy.  


Awards and Excerpts

Great Lakes Great Books Award, 2005 Honor Book Grades 2-3 Michigan

Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States

Children's Literature Choice List, 2004 ; Children's Literature; United States

Booklist review excerpt  “the characters in Gerstein's colorful, detailed drawings are irresistible.”

Kirkus review excerpt  “A sophisticated story designed to stimulate unconventional thinking.”

Connections

Additional japanese folktales:
The Samurai's Daughter : A Japanese Legend by  Robert D. San Souci
Once Under the Cherry Blossom Tree; An Old Japanese Tale by Allen Say (1974)

A collection of international fairy tales:
A World of Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang

Other books by Eric Kimmel:
Jack and the Giant Barbecue, 2012
The Three Little Tamales, 2009
The Fisherman and the Turtle, 2008

Suggested Activity:
The author credits The Mythology of Cats : Feline Legend and Lore Through the Ages by Gerald Hausman (1998) as his inspiration for this story.  Review this book and compare the two stories.  What elements of the original work did Kimmel use is his story?  What elements did he leave out?