Puss & Boots reads like a folk tale, but is a little different than the stories I read as a child.
The antagonist is believable and interesting, our protagonist is resourceful and loyal, and Imai's artwork is glorious. It makes me want to learn how to make shoes, and live in a cottage in the woods.
The moral isn't obvious, it reads like a classic folk tale in that our plucky hero does questionable and risky things, and is very proactive. The interactions are very believable.
The antagonist does die directly at the hands of Puss after being tricked, and the artwork handles this beautifully, but the moral lesson here caused some questions from my son afterward. A read-through prior to reading to children may be in order.
All in all, a great book though. ( )

Clever cat takes on greedy monster in this fresh, fun reimagining of the fairy tale. ( )

This classic fairytale with a twist shows Puss and his master as they rise to fame. The two live together in in a little shop because the man is a shoemaker - however, no more orders were coming in so he was telling the cat that perhaps it was time to find a new job. Puss had a suggestion though - he convinced the shoemaker to create a beautiful pair of boots for him so that he could go out into the world and find orders for the man. On the first day, Puss in Books came upon the castle of a great and terrible monster who can change his form at any time. The brave cat finds his way in and convinces him to purchase a pair of fine boots for his large feet, but once the beast has one pair, Puss convinces him that he needs boots for every form that he can take. Although the shoemaker made beautiful boots for many shapes, when it came time to pay, he refused. The monster transformed into himself into a frightful beast and chased Puss from him castle. This obviously upset him very much, so he had the shoemaker create the finest boots he could in the smallest size possible... Puss in Boots then tricks the monster to turn into a tiny mouse to try on the boots. Once the monster transforms, the cat reaches over and gobbles him up. With the shapeshifter gone, Puss and the shoemaker move into the castle and set up shop. Because of the fame of the location, people soon came and placed orders, marveling at the boots of all shapes and sizes seen in the window. ( )

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