Praise for At the Drop of a Cat

? Winner of the 2025 Prix Albertine Jeunesse! ? ? A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book! ? ? A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2023! ? ”Lópiz’s lush, verdant and empathetic art depicts both their shared interests and the differences that separate them. As grandson and grandfather grow closer, Lópiz gradually pulls back the thick vegetation, creating space for them to show each other their true selves, and show readers something all of us are searching for: a purely human connection.”
2023 NYT/NYPL Best Illustrated jury & NYPL children’s librarian

? A New York Public Library Best Children's Book of 2023! ? “In this heartwarming story translated from French, lush illustrations provide a verdant backdrop as a young child lovingly speaks about his grandfather. Luis, a Spanish refugee living in France, never learned to read or write, nonetheless his grandson admires his many talents.”
New York Public Library

? A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2023! ? ? “A dark-haired, pale-skinned 6-year-old adores spending time with their grandfather, whom they call Luis. The sensitively written text reveals Luis’ struggles without presenting him as lesser. The young narrator loves how Luis mixes up idioms, the source of the book’s title. Because Luis fled Spain as a child during ‘a terrible war’ and had to work to support himself in France, he never went to school or learned to read and write. Although early on, the narrator informs us, ‘I’m learning to read and write,’ this does not turn into a story centered on Luis’ illiteracy. The grandchild lovingly details their grandfather’s appreciation for birds, cats, and the natural world as well as his many skills, like gardening, cooking, playing guitar, and painting. ‘Dad says Luis is as good as Henri Rousseau,’ the text reads, which provides insight into the artistic inspiration behind Lópiz’s lush, naïve style and flat aesthetic. By book’s end, the narrator can read well, and Luis celebrates this accomplishment with a gift that reinforces their special bond and brings this stunning and tender tale to a satisfying conclusion. Warmhearted and affirming—one to pick up.”
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

? A Marginalian Favorite Book of 2023! ? “A bright and immeasurably tender celebration of the many languages of love comes from French author Élise Fontenaille and Spanish artist Violeta Lópiz in their lovely collaboration At the Drop of a Cat… Radiating from the pages is the great tenderness that blooms between the young boy and the old man as they try to understand each other, to inhabit each other’s inner garden… The loveliest thing I have seen in a very long time.”
The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)

About the Author

Élise Fontenaille is a French author and former journalist who lives and works in Haute-Loire, France. She writes for children and adults across a variety of genres and formats, including picture books, novels, science fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction, and crime fiction, and has received numerous French literary awards. At the Drop of a Cat is her first picture book, and the first to be translated into English.

Violeta Lópiz is a Spanish illustrator currently living in Peru. She has illustrated numerous books, including The True Story of a Mouse Who Never Asked for It (a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2021) and The Forest (a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2018). El Cultural, the supplement of El Mundo, considers her one of the top ten names of contemporary Spanish illustration.
Karin Snelson is a Seattle-based book editor, reviewer, writer, and translator, specializing in children’s and young adult literature. She has served on a Newbery Medal selection committee, on an ALA Notable Children’s Books committee, and on a 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award nominating committee through USBBY. She is the co-translator of the French picture book Jerome by Heart, which won a 2019 Batchelder Honor; At the Drop of a Cat; and You Can't Kill Snow White.

Growing up in a French, Chinese American family, Emilie Robert Wong attended school in the French national education system before studying Comparative Literature and Neuroscience at Harvard College. She is an associate editor with Enchanted Lion.

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