Book Review: Kid Noir: Kitty Feral and the Case of the Marshmallow Monkey

When I first heard that the "Czar of Noir," Eddie Muller, had written a children's book, I was surprised, to say the least!

KID NOIR: KITTY FERAL AND THE CASE OF THE MARSHMALLOW MONKEY was published a few weeks ago by TCM and Running Press Kids, and I'm happy to say it's a delight.

Muller, the author of DARK CITY: THE LOST WORLD OF FILM NOIR and EDDIE MULLER'S NOIR BAR, cowrote KITTY FERAL with Jessica Schmidt. The picture book was illustrated by Forrest Burdett.

The story is about Kitty Feral, the only cat detective in town. Kitty says "Trouble hounds me" since partner Mitch the Mutt went missing. Kitty spends the book searching not only for Mitch but for the Marshmallow Monkey of the title.

KITTY FERAL can be enjoyed on multiple levels. For children, it's an entertaining story with engaging illustrations. Additionally, the final page of the book has a concise yet thorough explanation of film noir for young readers.

The book as a whole provides a terrific introduction to the concept of film noir, mysteries, and classic movies, and I hope to share it with my toddler grandsons one day.

For adults, it's tremendous fun picking out all of the book's classic film references; one of the first I noted is the Acme Book Shop, straight out of THE BIG SLEEP (1945). (Alas, the store's clerk is not as congenial as Dorothy Malone!) I laughed out loud at Casper Nighthawk, the Sydney Greenstreet of the animal world.

I particularly loved that the warehouse door framing the sunrise near the end is straight out of THE BIG COMBO (1955). Muller and his collaborators had a lot of great ideas for translating the world of noir to Kitty Feral's world.

Some of the dialogue also contains film titles and references, such as Kitty being told "You're on dangerous ground." There are also visual tributes to filmmakers such as Val Lewton and Orson Welles.

The charming end pages feature posters such as "Nut Crazy" and "The Possum Always Rings Twice," with animals spoofing classic noir titles.

My only criticism is that a single word at a key moment is black on a dark background and hard to read; I initially missed it. If there are subsequent printings, I wonder if perhaps that word could be moved elsewhere on the page.

Otherwise, this book was thoughtfully created and is great fun. I hope we can look forward to more adventures with Kitty Feral in the future.

KID NOIR is 32 glossy pages. Like DARK CITY, the book is in a rectangular format which the author has described as more "cinematic."

Thanks to Running Press and TCM for providing a review copy of this book.

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