LS 5603 Gobble, Gobble, Slip, Slop: A Tale of a Very Greedy Cat

So, Meilo. Gobble, Gobble, Slip, Slop: A Tale of a Very Greedy Cat. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

ISBN 0-375-82504-5

In this retelling of a folktale from India, a boastful and greedy cat consumes all that get in his way of being lazy. The story begins with a cat and a parrot agreeing to trade duties by on providing food one day, the other the next day and so on. The cat provides the parrot with a few grains of rice and then the generous parrot provide the cat with an abundant portion of little cakes. The cat, still hungry and gluttonous, then consumes the parrot and the remainder of the cakes then lazes about, blocking the path from others. The others that come along want the cat to move but he refuses, each time consuming the travelers and growing bigger and bigger until some crabs he consumed earlier cut their way out of the cat’s belly, freeing all trapped within.

This lavishly illustrated story has the cat seemingly rule its little place in the world but gets its comeuppance in the end. By using pompous and bullying techniques he devours all those that it deems get in his way of being slothful. The artist-author uses repetition, along with an increasing list of things devoured, and an ever-increasing size of the cat to represent the passage of time and the increasing amount he eats. The illustrations show the Indian culture (turbaned men and women wearing scarves or veils) as normal for the context of the story, but no remark is made upon it in the story; it is simply a backdrop setting. The time period is speculated to be in the past as the cat blocks travelers on foot, donkey, or elephant in the illustrations. Children will be delighted by the noisiness of the cat and its feasting; it would make a good story to make silly noises with! This story can also be suspenseful: What will the cat eat next? and will encourage children to read to the end to find out what happens next and if there are any escapees from the cat’s belly.

Publisher’s Weekly, in their March 2004, review stated that the book is “a thoroughly satisfying cautionary tale that youngsters will clamor to take off the shelf for another look.” Readers would also enjoy other cumulative tales such as There Was A Bold Lady Who Wanted A Star by Charise Mericle Harper and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout by Terri Sloat. They may also enjoy another “noisy” book like Gobble-Gobble Crash! by Julie Stiegemeyer.