Once in a while, a person has to let her editorial bias show, and mine is this: I'm mad mad mad for bunting. So I was terrifically excited when we had the opportunity feature Kristi Bridgeman's illustrations from A Carnival of Cats, written by Charles Ghigna, because there's a string of bunting on every page. (What's a carnival without one?) 

But it's not all about the bunting*. Because there's no better time than Halloween for a carnival of cats, methinks, for carnival-ing the Black Bombay cat in particular. Plus: the illustrations are gorgeous. Bridgeman is an accomplished artist (see more of her work here) who has illustrated books by Canadian writers including P.K. Page (There Once Was a Camel, and other titles) and Fiona Tinwei Lam (The Rainbow Rocket). 

Bridgeman's fine-art pieces can be found at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and Sooke Harbour House Gallery. Born and raised on the west coast of Canada, Kristi resides and paints in her home-based studio at the edge of the rainforest on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

***

**

About A Carnival of Cats: 

There’s a purrrfect little carnival coming to town, filled with adorable cats of all different kinds! In this hint-and-reveal board book, babies, toddlers and cat-lovers alike will enjoy discovering (and guessing) what breed of cat is hiding on the next page. With playful rhyming text from award-winning author Charles Ghigna, aka Father Goose, and beautiful illustrations by celebrated artist Kristi Bridgeman, this exuberant board book will have everyone guessing what cat is that!

*This is a lie. It really is ALL about the bunting.