Meow!

Joana Estrela

We share our lives with cats, dogs, turtles, mice or goldfish…and we love them so much that we even tend to say that “they’re part of the family”. But what do those friendships between humans and non-humans look like?
What do we seek in them, and what do they want from us?
How are we similar and how are we different?
In this story, told in pictures, we wake up in a house where two cats and a girl live. And look! they’re already starting to stretch, inviting us to spend the day with them.
“Come on!”, say the cats.
“Meow!”, says the girl.

Meow! is a silent graphic novel within reach of smaller readers.

This book was created based on research carried out for the project CLAN, using interviews with families and children who share their homes with cats, dogs and other animal species.

Press voices

“In a book where the words are swapped for sounds and images which don’t require text, Joana Estrela shows us a family routine (…), a taste for adventure and how the imagination can help make things better (…). A friendship between humans and animals which is also a metaphor for life. A big Meow! for Joana Estrela.” Pedro Miguel Silva, Deus Me Livro

“Going about their daily business, two cats come together and move apart, they fight and play, stretching and escaping along rooftops, and they dominate the thoughts of the girl who lives with them – someone who even reads Puss in Boots. Criss-crossed by subjects such as difference, imagination, companionship or dedication, for example, this book (…) will certainly be well received by readers of all ages.” Sara Reis da Silva, Caminhos de Leitura

“(…) From intimacy to consolation, from exploring the world to nostalgia, from imposition to permission, everything occurs in the course of a day. Here, each reader will make their own references. In the simplicity of the representations, there’s room for memories of one’s own bedroom, a thought which makes us float out and away from the classroom, a person cooking at home, a particular dish that we really like or a basic necessity.” Andreia Brites, Blimunda magazine

“There are no great shocks or about turns, but there is time – the centrepiece of this narrative – and the certainty that existence has meaningless if we imagine it alone. For a children’s book it’s no small message.” Sara Figueiredo Costa