Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

The mice in the barn have a cat problem and must rely on their own wits to solve it.After taking pity on a poor starving tabby cat named Marmalade, the barn mice learn that no good deed goes unpunished when she becomes a tyrant, terrorizing the very creatures who nursed her back to health. When life becomes intolerable, the mice craft a collar with a bell to warn them of Marmalade's approach, but who will take on the perilous duty of belling the cat? In this book, published posthumously, the beloved, multiaward-winning McKissack leaves readers one more insightful tale that teaches the value of self-reliance and gently cautions against believing preconceived notions. Reminiscent of Margery Sharpe's The Rescuers, the classed society of mice enlists aid from the dreaded rats and even a barn bird before they are forced to rely on a most unexpected ally. Cyr, in his debut picture book, creates an atmospheric and precarious landscape through brilliant use of shadow and color. Marmalade's eyes, a lugubrious shade of yellow, convey the full extent of her villainy, while the scale of the mice in the shadowy barn reinforces the danger that they are in. A black nuclear family is seamlessly integrated in the conclusion.A lovely posthumous gift that will undoubtedly draw readers into the prolific author's body of work. (Picture book. 4-7)

ALA Booklist (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Newbery Honor Book author McKissack's Marmalade is no sweet and gentle feline. After some very kind and thoughtful mice nurse the sick and hungry cat back to health, he turns on them viciously. At the monthly mouse meeting, Smart Mouse tells the colony of small rodents that they must defend themselves. They find a bell and fashion a collar. But how to attach it around the ferocious feline's neck? Various plans fail, so they desperately enlist the help of the Rat Pack. But in an oversize double-page spread, the orange cat prevails, fending off the biggest, meanest rats anyone can imagine. Though the cat's eventually collared when someone new arrives, Old Wise Mouse offers a warning (à la Aesop): "When you use a tiger to get rid of a lion, what will you do with the tiger? (That's another problem for a different day.)" The deeply toned orange, red, and brown palette created digitally creates a realistic atmosphere for a truly scary piece of folklore about clever little ones coping with a brutal foe.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The mice in the barn have a cat problem and must rely on their own wits to solve it.After taking pity on a poor starving tabby cat named Marmalade, the barn mice learn that no good deed goes unpunished when she becomes a tyrant, terrorizing the very creatures who nursed her back to health. When life becomes intolerable, the mice craft a collar with a bell to warn them of Marmalade's approach, but who will take on the perilous duty of belling the cat? In this book, published posthumously, the beloved, multiaward-winning McKissack leaves readers one more insightful tale that teaches the value of self-reliance and gently cautions against believing preconceived notions. Reminiscent of Margery Sharpe's The Rescuers, the classed society of mice enlists aid from the dreaded rats and even a barn bird before they are forced to rely on a most unexpected ally. Cyr, in his debut picture book, creates an atmospheric and precarious landscape through brilliant use of shadow and color. Marmalade's eyes, a lugubrious shade of yellow, convey the full extent of her villainy, while the scale of the mice in the shadowy barn reinforces the danger that they are in. A black nuclear family is seamlessly integrated in the conclusion.A lovely posthumous gift that will undoubtedly draw readers into the prolific author's body of work. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Lush, cinematic illustrations add drama to the late McKissack-s retelling of Aesop-s classic fable. After a group of warmhearted barn mice nurse a cat back to health, the cat, named Marmalade, turns on them, terrifying them as they gather to figure out what to do. Her chilly metallic eyes, savage teeth, and curved claws are genuinely scary. Debut illustrator Cyr shows the conclave of mice lit by a stained-glass window as Smart Mouse speaks from a matchbook lectern. The mice secure a sleigh bell and attach it