You know Eddie Muller from hosting films about the Golden Age of Hollywood and his book Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (reviewed here).  Muller is taking a cue from his cats in his next project, and delivering a mash-up for an entirely new audience.  Muller has co-written a picture book with Jessica Schmidt, with illustrations by Forrest Burdett.  It’s called Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey, and it’s available now for pre-order here at Amazon.  It’s more soft-boiled than hard-boiled as noir goes, but it’s a cute gateway for kids to begin to understand how mysteries work and how this niche of “old-time” stories is–and was–told.

You never know what book is going to get a kid interested in a subject that might take them on a new path he or she may not have traveled otherwise.  Kids may be too young for the themes of Dashiell Hammett’s Maltese Falcon or Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, but they’ll be a little closer after reading this tale of a cat private detective trying to find her missing partner and a stolen object.

Kitty Feral is both written and drawn with a mix of cute and those frame angles we’ve seen time and again in film noir.  The creators supply the narrative with enough key tropes to give a good snapshot of what a story means to be noir.

Here is an inside look at Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey from Turner Classic Movies/TCM and publisher Running Press Kids:

A unique gift idea for families who watch old movies together, Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey is available September 19, 2023.  Pre-order your copy now here at Amazon.