I knew nothing of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlein and quite enjoyed this picture book and its illustrations.

I loved this picture book! As a cat lover this was perfect for me. The art in this book is incredible and any cat fan will love this!

A charming children's book with lovely illustrations and a lyrical quality to the writing. The Artist Who Loved Cats does a wonderful job of making the subject interesting and engaging. I have fond memories of similar artist stories as a child - which sparked a lifelong passion for art and art history for myself. I love that authors continue to put out works that might do the same for another generation.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ms. Schaefer Bernardo has written a beautiful book about an important artist. Perfect for children of all ages, it would be a beautiful additional to any art lover's library.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

I'm sure we're all familiar with the famous painting Le Chat Noir, the black cat from Paris, but few know who the artist is behind the painting: Theophile Alexandre Steinlen. The Artist Who Loved Cats is the delightful story of this man and his love of cats. The story line is set in an antiquities shop in Paris. Antoinette sees something in the window that catches her and, once inside, meets the proprietor who knows the stories behind each and every object in the store. Through beautiful, rhythmic prose, he begins to tell her of the man who loved cats - Steinlen. Steinlen was in Paris in the 1800s to study fabric and design. He created hundreds of illustrations about the industry but he always came back to painting what he loved most: cats. In this delightful tale, children not only learn about this incredible illustrator/artist, but they will be fascinated by the details of Paris in the height of the artisan age, the golden age of Paris.

The Artist Who Loved Cats is wonderfully written and the illustration are simply stunning. I can only hope that this is the beginning of series featuring more artists from this era. I think kids - as well as adults - would be thrilled by it. I have to share my favorite quote from the book with you because it's actually one that I live by here in my Victorian home: "Each thing has a past, each place has a history." Isn't that just so incredibly true? I do hope you will read this marvelous book and share it far and wide with the children in your lives.

Beautiful in both the art and the language. I made a Pin board online of his artwork after reading this book. Simply beautiful! This would make a great gift or coffee table book!

A wonderful picture book of the famous artist Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen and his cats. The text is informative but written in fun rhyming couplets. This book will bring joy to any reader, young and old.

A fun and interesting book about Art Nouveau artist Theophile Steinlen, who is probably most remembered for his poster art for the cabaret Le Chat Noir. The story is told in rhyme, with French phrases sprinkled throughout (a glossary of the French words and phrases used would've been nice to help young readers with pronunciation and comprehension, but c'est la vie). The illustrations are bright and colorful, filled with all kinds of detail, including other artists and performers in Steinlen's social circle. There is a brief biography of Steinlen after the story, plus an author's note on the inspiration for the story, and a guide to the famous faces seen. And, of course, lots of cats!

#TheArtistWhoLovedCatsTheInspiringTaleOfTheophileSteinlen #NetGalley

Blogger at Momotips.

Thanks to Netgalley and Inner Flower Child Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.

As always, I love colorful covers, and this time it happened the same. Mostly I got attracted by this comic because of its cover. A stunning and marvelous cover! The story is made ad-hoc for children, I enjoyed the layout as dividing the illustrations from the written story would give the children the possibility to create and imagine their own story about Monsieur Theophile Alexandre Steinlen.
I found the story a bit short, and I would prefer the author was telling something more about how the famous poster Le Chat Noir have been created. On the contrary, I loved the idea to tell the biography of Mr. Steinlen in the last pages, where also some small activities for children have been created.
I have only one negative remark, in some pages where the page is filled with illustrations some texts are in white color, I had difficulties to read. While where black font was chosen it was much better and easy to read.
I will definitely buy this comic for my children and recommend to all my friends!

Description
The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Theophile Alexandre Steinlen is a picture book biography of the artist who created the iconic Le Chat Noir cabaret posters. Steinlen moved to Paris in 1881 to pursue his creative dreams, ultimately creating more than 700 journal illustrations, famous posters, sculptures, cartoon strips, and paintings. Many of Steinlen's artworks feature cats, his favorite subject. More than just a biography, The Artist Who Loved Cats is a celebration of art, inspiration, and following your heart to create a life that you love.

My Review

I just returned from an extended stay in Paris and had the pleasure of reading the book while staying in the city center. What brought a smile to my face was every time I saw a poster of image from the artist I felt even more connected.

This is an amazing illustrated memoir that I will cherish and actually purchase as I want the physical copy.

I cannot praise this book enough. It was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest opinion. So, I am definitely giving this a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm pretty sure I've seen images of some of these posters before, but it's not often presented to young readers. They're quite charming. And we don't usually see advertisements presented as art to children. That alone makes this an intriguing read for youngsters. It just might encourage them to look at ads from a new perspective. This would be a fun book to use in an art class, to put unexpected objects or animals into existing images.

This was a really cute book which tells the tale of Theophile Steinlen and his love of cats. I adored the illustrations and it would be suitable for lovers of both art and cats.

The Artist Who Loved Cats is a beautifully crafted story in which Antoinette learns about the life and art of Théophile Steinlen, his career, and introduces the creative importance of bohemian Montmartre’s artists around the turn of the 20th century.

This book is perfect for cat lovers of all ages and people who like some history and conversational French sprinkled into their beautifully illustrated and charmingly written stories. Oh! And it rhymes! Don’t let this dissuade you from buying it; it’s artfully worded without having a childish feel or a sense of forced rhymes. The meter flows naturally when read aloud, even seamlessly weaving in some French phrases.

Antoinette peers through Arvieux’s Antiquités shop window and spots a bronze cat statuette she hasn’t seen before. From Monsieur Arvieux, the shop’s educative owner, she listens as he paints The Inspiring Tale of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen. Though born in Switzerland, he permanently relocated to France where he etched, sculpted, painted, and drew everyday things: cats, sketches, magazine covers, anti-war messages, advertisements, and posters. And more cats.

The remarkable illustrations by Courtenay Fletcher feature more of Steinlen’s art and are dotted with felines of every color. Le Chat Noir, the iconic black cat, can be found prowling around each page of the book. The final spread features a mini-biography and photo of Théophile Steinlen, a few of his posters, and includes notable artists from Steinlen’s cabaret days. The inspiration that prompted Susan Schaefer Bernardo to tell this story is shared here too. This book is worthy of what space it takes up on the shelf and I plan to add it to mine.


Thanks to Inner Flower Child Books, Independent Book Publishers Association, and NetGalley for the provided e-ARC and the opportunity to read this book. My review is honest, unbiased, and voluntary. #NetGalley #TheArtistWhoLovedCats #LeChatNoir #TheArtistWhoLovedCatsTheInspiringTaleOfTheophileAlexandreSteinlen

An absolute gem of a picture book biography and a truly inspiring tale. Through a perfect mix of words and beautiful illustrations, the biography provides much for young readers to explore, wonder and ponder about - about the life of Theophile Steinlen, about following your dreams as well as about how artifacts "make us wonder about the world as it was - how people lived and worked, what they thought and dreamed and did".

While the rhymes are quite sweet, despite an annoying reference to a Moulin Rouge song, the illustrations I feel just don't complement the amazing art of Steinlen. I know it's for kids, but there was too much of a disconnect and kids are savvy readers so I'm sure they'd be annoyed as well. Especially as I adored his famous Cat Noir poster all my life I can totally see me as a young reader being annoyed by this book which is a little too precocious for it's own good.

This book was so adorable. The artwork was gorgeous, the way the story was told was cute and I learned something from it. Definitely a good pick for a younger reader who enjoys bright colors and cats.

4.5 solid, artistic and cat loving, stars!

My thanks to NetGalley and Inner Flower Child Books Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Outstanding ! This is such a beautifully done book ! I loved it cover to cover. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity. My opinion is my own..

I am a fan of the author's work and have a lovely print of "La Chat Noir" . The beauty of this book is the wonderful illustrations and the biography of this artist and his work. It is such a joy to read as it flows from one beautiful art work to the next and has such a lovely collection of his work . I was entranced by how lovely this book is . It is a visual delight to read. If you like Paris you will love the pictures and the story of this artist life in Paris as a artist.


I recommend everyone purchase a hardback copy. This was such a lovely experience to read and I highly recommend this book to all that love cats and this artist work.

This is a beautiful children's book full of detailed and eye catching photos. You can see such detail in the images! The rhyming text flows and is a delight to read. I love the end too where you are asked if you noticed certain images, pictures and people throughout the book. I have had a copy of the artist's 'Le Chat Noir' that has traveled with me through various moves and homes. Thank you to Netgalley and Inner Flower Child Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful biography of a cat lover and famous artist.
Illustrations were bold and eye catching.
Definitely recommend adding this to your little person's book shelf.

Oh my gosh this is a beautiful book! I am so happy I happened upon it whilst browsing, I absolutely love it.

I have this wonderful artist's poster, 'Le Chat Noir' on the wall in my study, It is one of my favourites, and for the past month I have been researching him in an endeavour to learn more about his art and to procure more posters. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Inner Flowerchild Books for providing a copy to read and review. I love the serendipity of my finding this book at the very time I am interested in this artist and his life.

The illustrations are so beautifully done, the colours and scenes portray the beauty and style of Paris and idyllic Montmartre. The rhyming text flows so effortlessly and is such a pleasure to read. The story is concise and expertly provides a biography of a very talented artist and his work.

I loved this book from the very first page and cannot wait to purchase a hardback copy for myself. Bravo to the author and the illustrator on creating a book that is visually beautiful and an absolutely pleasant experience to read.

The book is a truly heartwarming homage to a wonderful artist, and I love that another generation will be able to learn about him and admire his vast volume of work.

Ps oh how I would love to have chanced upon a cat sculpture of his in a random antique shop too!