The White Cat and the Monk, a collaboration between Ontario-based children’s author Jo Ellen Bogart and Sidewalk Flowers illustrator Sydney Smith‚ has landed on The New York Times list of Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2016. The Groundwood Books title is the only Canadian-authored book to make this year’s list.
The White Cat and the Monk is a retelling of the 9th-century Irish poem “Pangur Bán,” and parallels a monk’s devoted study and his companion feline’s propensity to hunt, relaying a message about patience and hard work.