About Book I
Come to Victorian England and meet two cats named Rose and Leopold. Adventures abound once Leopold from Germany pays a call on Rose, who lives in the cellar of Buckingham Palace. Leopold at first makes many mistakes; he accidentally stains Rose's fur and insults her. But he becomes a feline gentleman when he learns three English customs: calling cards, teatime, and the language of flowers.
The cats' lives intersect with the history of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. As you follow the cats' adventures, you will also learn about life in Victorian England.
Catherine based the characters of Rose and Leopold on her own cats, Rose and Lee. They were littermates and close companions. Rose is buff and white, just like Rose in the story, and Lee was an orange tiger with a magnificent tail, just like Leopold in the story. Catherine now has a gray cat named Jules, and he is a companion for Rose.
Pam used photos of Catherine's real cats, Rose and Lee, to design her illustrations. For example, Rose and Lee liked to curl into one basket, just like Rose and Leopold do in the final picture of the book when they take a cat nap together. Pam created the clay figures using a white clay body. After the figures dried, Pam fired them in the kiln in her studio and then painted them. Transforming the 2-D images of Catherine's real cats into the 3-D Victorian-attired clay sculptures of Rose and Leopold has been an exciting process. Using historical photographs as backdrops, the sculptural illustrations become tableaus that bring the Victorian period to life.
Catherine and Pam are at work on the next book in this series entitled Rose and Leopold Living Royally. In the next book, you will learn more about the life and times of Victorian England and their royalty, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, when Rose and Leopold follow in the royals' footsteps to get married and start a cat family.
Book title is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booksamillion Website.