Kattjakten, by Lars Lerin
Baksidestext: Vart har katten Silling tagit vägen? Hos familjen Lerin pả Hammaron i Värmland är det bara en dag kvar till julafton och plötsligt är en av de tva katterna i huset försvunnen. Pojkarna Rafael och Gabriel ger sig ut för att leta ...
Vintriga akvareller, kärlek till katter och ett fint vardagligt äventyr i juletid. Kattjakten är Lars Lerins fjärde barnbok, en berättelse i ord och akvarell.
It snows over Värmland, over Hammarön, and over the yellow house where Gabriel and Rafael live. Two brothers, three and four years old. Each of them has a cat: Mimi and Silling. But one morning, something is wrong. The house is too quiet. One bowl of cat food was untouched. Silling’s.
Pappa Junior appears with a warm breakfast for everyone, and Pappa Lars offers calm explanations. So begins a wintry search going through rooms, under the beds, behind the doors. Still no sign of the missing cat. Out into the snow they go—through snowdrifts, toward the ateljé where Pappa Lars often makes art. Mimi the cat joins them tentatively, skeptical of the cold.
During the search, the brothers Rafael and Gabriel wonder about snow (where do they all end up?); about animals (where do myrorna—ants—go in winter?); they check places real and imagined (what do trolls eat—according to Pappa Lars, apparently mostly kottar and groddar, that is, pine cones and sprouts).
The whole narrative is tender and funny and full of small truths. How cats aren’t like dogs, how a house without a cat isn’t a home, how even a silent morning (like this one) can hold a mystery to be solved.
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I bought this delightful book online from Rutströms bokhandel. It’s a charming 44-page children’s book that offers a heartwarming and memorable reading experience. I read it out loud to my Mister Pops and he fell asleep.
Lars Lerin, celebrated for his luminous watercolor paintings, is not only a masterful artist but also a gifted storyteller, weaving words with the same sensitivity he brings to his brush.
The book is a touching reminder of the small adventures that make up childhood and family life. I especially loved how Lerin’s own family—his husband and their sons—are lovingly portrayed in this story.
