Mr. Wuffles!

Mr. Wuffles!
By David Wiesner
2013
978-0-618-75661-2

A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book!

Mr. Wuffles is a cute black and white housecat, a little pet to humans, but to bugs and tiny aliens he is a life-threatening menace.  When a group of tiny extraterrestrials land their ship in the house of Mr. Wuffles, they are victimized by the monster house cat's curiosity. Their instruments are damaged and they side with some insects to plot to fix their tools and escape from Mr. Wufflle's lair.

Mr. Wiesner's fantastic Mr. Wuffles! reads more like a comic book than a traditional children's picture book. It is fascinating how much dramatic development Mr. Wiesner can create with his pictures. I'm impressed by the book's ability to be so cinematic and can inject points of humor into dramatically charged scenes. Like when the aliens are hiding in a radiator grate and Mr. Wuffles is waiting for them, while Mr. Wuffle's human owner asks, "What's so interesting, Mr. Wuffles?"  We the readers know what's going on, even if Mr. Wuffle's human owner does not.  It's easy to see why this book wins awards.  My only problem with the book is that I cannot use it to read aloud at children's storytime, since it is a non-verbal story.  But it is a fascinating book nonetheless!  Great!