• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

Pounce found Mrs. Florida Brown on a bad, bad night on the rainy side of town . . .

Pounce de Leon, a mischievous, loving cat, adopts Mrs. Florida Brown as his constant companion. Pounce's job is to look after the aging Mrs. Brown. If her knuckles ache, he lets her pat him for a good long time. When her tummy acts up, he sits on her until she feels better. And if she's lonely at night, he lets her curl up right there beside him.

Most of all, Pounce is fascinated by the view from the jumbled house into the jungle-like garden filled with overgrown plants and trees. When Mrs. Brown speaks of a mysterious, beautiful girl and a lost fountain of youth, Pounce sets out on a quest to find it for his loving owner.

In this delightfully whimsical story, the award-winning Tim Wynne-Jones, author of the classic Zoom series, takes us on a cat's journey of discovery and adventure. Mexican painter Alfredo Tapia's art beautifully conveys the lush world of the garden where Pounce de Leon might just find the means to rejuvenate Mrs. Florida Brown and rekindle her zest for life.

TIM WYNNE-JONES is one of Canada's foremost writers for children. The author of over thirty-five books, he is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award, as well as a two-time winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and of the Arthur Ellis Award. His short-story collections include Some of the Kinder Planets, Book of Changes and Lord of the Fries. He is also known for his Rex Zero series. Recently, he wrote the young-adult novels The Ruinous Sweep; Emperor of Any Place, which earned seven starred reviews; and Blink & Caution, which won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Tim is also the recipient of the Edgar Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. In 2012, he was made an Officer to the Order of Canada. He lives in Perth, Ontario.

Tim Wynne-Jones' profile page

ALFREDO TAPIA is a leading talent from the state of Guerrero, Mexico, whose work is distinguished by its realistic and detailed portrayal of the beautiful people, land and sea of the coastal fishing town of Zihuatanejo. Alfredo Tapia was born in Zihuatanejo in 1970 and studied drawing, painting and sculpture at the Guerrero Institute of Culture. Since 2002, Alfredo Tapia has worked exclusively as a painter capturing the life of Zihuatanejo.

Alfredo Tapia's profile page

"Pounce has never seen a fountain of youth in Mrs. B's dark, sepulchral house - a wonderfully atmospheric gloom has been conjured up in oils by Alfredo Tapia. . . Kudos to Tim Wynne-Jones for a perfectly plotted picture book that also plays with the Ponce de Leon myth in a most enjoyable way."
— The Globe and Mail

"It's not your typical set-up for a kids' story, but it works - through the manipulation of tone and perspective, Wynne-Jones creates a strongly defined world."
— Quill & Quire

"Tim Wynne-Jones' warm and gentle tale of devotion is accompanied by illustrations by Alfredo Tapia, whose paintings convey not only the loneliness of Mrs. Brown, clutching her bag and umbrella in the dark rainy night, but also the joyful awakening in the lush green of her garden as she sits by the fountain, dressed in white, and cuddling adventurous and devoted Pounce."
— Okanagan College Library

"Pounce de Leon is a tender, touching story, beautifully amplified by the expressive paintings of Alfredo Tapia."
— Midwest Book Review

"In Pounce de Leon, Tim Wynne-Jones has created the sunny story of a small kitten who enters the life of Mrs. Florida Brown, a lonely older woman whose life is dominated by an unexplained grief. Told entirely from the kitten's point of view, and brought to life by the lush watercolour paintings of Alfredo Tapia, the tale is a cheerful account of how small things can make a big difference."
— Canadian Literature