Trupp : a fuzzhead tale

Janell Cannon's picture books have won many awards and are beloved around the world. She is the author and illustrator of Verdi, Crickwing, Pinduli, and the long-time bestselling classic Stellaluna. Born and raised in Minnesota, Ms. Cannon now lives in Southern California.

Ages 5^-7. From the author of Stellaluna (1993) comes the tale of Trupp, a young fuzzhead, a white-furred creature resembling a cat. Determined to see the world, he leaves his family's cave in the cliffs and makes his way to the city. There he befriends Bernice, a homeless woman who understands him, helps him, and sends him on his way home. Young children may be disturbed by the scene in which Bernice and Trupp are attacked by a man who then flees when Trupp reveals himself as a talking animal and threatens the man with his claws. Deft and accomplished, the artwork includes soft-edge acrylic-and-pencil paintings in full color that fill the pages as well as small black-and-white drawings that decorate the text. The story, though, rambles rather aimlessly and mixes fantasy and realism in a vaguely disquieting way. One picture of Trupp wearing clothing and walking along a city street echoes a Garth Williams illustration in Margaret Wise Brown's Three Little Animals, a more satisfying picture book in which wild things come to the city. Readers who adore Cannon's first book may want to see this one, but Trupp is no Stellaluna. Carolyn Phelan