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Cat Books
Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations
Celebrated comic artist and graphic novelist Jeffrey Brown's collection of all-new drawings sweetly illustrates the joys of living with a cat. Featured in McSweeney's and on NPR's This American Life, and praised by comic luminaries Chris Ware and Daniel Clowes, Brown's work has always paid tribute to felines as they curl up on couches and purr on the peripheries of his autobiographical stories. Cat Getting Out of a Bag follows his cat Misty -really, any cat- as she goes about her everyday activities and adventures. In a series of drawings, Brown perfectly captures the universal charm of cats in a lovely book sure to please fans and cat lovers of any stripe.
108 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2007
28 people are currently reading
1307 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Brown
189 books1,376 followersJeffrey Brown was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up reading comic books with dreams of someday drawing them, only to abandon them and focus on becoming a 'fine artist.' While earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Brown abandoned painting and began drawing comics with his first autobiographical book 'Clumsy' in 2001. Since then he's drawn a dozen books for publishers including TopShelf, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, McSweeney's and Chronicle Books. Simon & Schuster published his latest graphic memoir 'Funny Misshapen Body.' In addition to directing an animated video for the band Death Cab For Cutie, Brown has had his work featured on NPR's 'This American Life' His art has been shown at galleries in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Paris. Jeffrey's work has also appeared in the Best American Comics series and received the Ignatz Award in 2003 for 'Outstanding Minicomic.'
He currently lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their son Oscar.
He currently lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their son Oscar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
May 2, 2022
I want a cat, LOL!!!
Một cuốn sách đơn giản về những hành vi hằng ngày của một con mèo. Nội dung đơn giản nhưng rất đáng yêu, mình thường hay xem mấy video về mèo nên đọc cứ tưởng tượng vui phết.
February 3, 2024
I wish that this was longer! Very, very cute. As a Cat Mommy I could relate! The plant-chewing, trying to change the sheets with cats chasing air pockets, the way cats ignore the toys but want the wrapping paper, ... I particularly loved his diagrams showing where the toy mice wind up! I pulled my oven out to clean under and behind it, and my cats must have had 40+ mice stockpiled under there. It's my fault for buying more :) I hope he makes more of these books.
July 30, 2011
Cat Getting Out of a Bag mostly comprises single-page cat-related comics, and is therefore one of Jeffrey Brown's most "accessible" books; it could easily be a gift to a relative or a volume kept on the coffee table. But Bag should not be dismissed as just a "cute cat book." With his felt pen drawings, Brown here has used space and "action words" most inventively - "PURRRRRS" span panels; cats jump through frames; in one comic the onomatopoeia "KTHUMP" shows the path of a bounding feline. Brown also has utilized interesting framing. He does not really take on a "cat's eye view," but has chosen to keep human heads mostly out-of-frame, which puts the emphasis back on his cartoon kitties, though often Jeff will remain the protagonist in regards to his speech bubbles. Interspersed throughout the comics are felt pen drawings of cats done in a more realistic style than Jeff's comics (like the drawings that bookend his autobiographical works). These pictures really reiterate the compassion and care Brown has felt for his kitties, and the Bag as a whole will resonate with cat- and comic-lovers alike.
April 2, 2022
★ 5.0 Stars ★
August 3, 2007
I like this Jeffrey Brown character. One does not come to him for spectacular art (though the crude style never detracts from the material; just the opposite, in fact), but for the opportunity to see familiar and often overlooked mannerisms and habits depicted within an instantly relatable situation. Here, he proves that his characters needn't be human or at all anthropomorphized to fit seamlessly into his perceptive little universe. Just about every weird thing I've ever seen the various cats in my life do - rubbing their face on everything, loving you one minute and biting you the next, the Flehmen response, the crazy chattering noise whenever they see birds out the window - has a frame or two dedicated to it. I only wish the book were twice as long, but what little there is of it is attractively-designed (love the cover) and thoroughly charming.
December 28, 2010
*purr*
Aww.....
Aww.....
April 1, 2009
I really don't like Jeffrey Brown most of the time. He's in that school of comix artists who write uncomfortable strips about their uncomfortable lives and always make me feel voyeuristically dirty for reading them. These are the kind of people who, if the comics are to be believed, must go around intentionally screwing up their relationships for the sake of having material. Insecurity, stubbornness, and sheer stupidity bleed off of every panel. Brown's illustrative style is unimpressive as well -- too cartoony and too detailed at the same time. It freaks me out.
However:
This book is a real treat, probably because it doesn't have anything to do with Jeffrey or his screwed up relationships. It's just about his cat. These are simple, mostly wordless strips about the messes that his cat gets himself into and out of.
Brown brings the same keen reportage that he brings to his other comics to these cat stories, and to wonderful effect. He shows a great sense of the cat's body-language and movement, and really wonderful comedic timing. I bought this for Erin for X-Mas, and we spent much of the morning giggling in recognition at these everyday misadventures. Cat lovers and comics lovers should check it out.
However:
This book is a real treat, probably because it doesn't have anything to do with Jeffrey or his screwed up relationships. It's just about his cat. These are simple, mostly wordless strips about the messes that his cat gets himself into and out of.
Brown brings the same keen reportage that he brings to his other comics to these cat stories, and to wonderful effect. He shows a great sense of the cat's body-language and movement, and really wonderful comedic timing. I bought this for Erin for X-Mas, and we spent much of the morning giggling in recognition at these everyday misadventures. Cat lovers and comics lovers should check it out.
August 9, 2022
This is a brilliant little book that if you have ever shared a house with a cat you will totally understand.
There are some books that when you find them you just have to pick up and read - regardless of the number of times you have done so before and this is one such book.
The book consists of single page cartoons depicting typical cat behaviour in all its funny annoying destructive ways. Anyone who has lived with a cat will recognise so many of their traits. This is not just a series of humorous observations but also I think sign of how much they impact our lives. This is evident throughout the book by the various portraits of I assume the authors own cats.
So are these cartoons observations of general cat behaviour or a record of the adventures he has had
There are some books that when you find them you just have to pick up and read - regardless of the number of times you have done so before and this is one such book.
The book consists of single page cartoons depicting typical cat behaviour in all its funny annoying destructive ways. Anyone who has lived with a cat will recognise so many of their traits. This is not just a series of humorous observations but also I think sign of how much they impact our lives. This is evident throughout the book by the various portraits of I assume the authors own cats.
So are these cartoons observations of general cat behaviour or a record of the adventures he has had
May 29, 2021
My niece checked this out from the library for me (!) and she nailed the recommendation. This is a man who has spent a not insignificant amount of time observing the minutiae of domestic cat behavior, and he translates it to a graphic medium adorably. Super cute.
June 20, 2025
El librito en sí me recordó muchísimo a mis dos gatos, pero sobretodo a mí gata. Me pareció muy tierno. Creo que cualquier persona que tenga u ame a los gatos disfrutará de este libro ❤️
(puntuación real: 3.5)
(puntuación real: 3.5)
February 18, 2022
Above this, there's a picture of Gwen in her "Da Cat Queen" shirt that El got for her for her birthday last year. (Eleanor told Liz the idea she had, and Liz designed it based on El's specs. I thought it was a great gift idea, and the shirt is super-cool).
Anyway, if you can't see it, join me in shared annoyance of only being able to see pictures in reviews when reading them on a computer instead of phone - which is where we've all been for years, now.
I saw this at the library and immediately thought of Gwen. And the book is a sweet tribute to cats in all their... irksome cuteness.
I've never considered myself a cat person, but maybe this book convinced me that I am one.
And Gwen never read it. I don't know why. So points off from her. I guess I'm the biggest cat-lover of the family after all.
June 19, 2018
In general, people tend to be either “dog people” or “cat people.” Jeffrey Brown is clearly a cat person. In “Cat Getting Out Of A Bag And Other Observations,” Brown explores all things feline with a keen eye and a warm heart. Mostly wordless, the book is a series of comics about all the weird things cats do, interspersed with some very lovely and more complex drawings of - you guessed it - cats. Having made his name as a brutally honest autobio cartoonist and now mainly known for his YA comics, Brown refuses to be pinned down and “Cat Getting Out Of A Bag,” while distinctly a Jeffrey Brown book, is another gentle curveball in an eclectic career. Funny, silly, and insightful, this book is like catnip to feline-lovers (and even some dog-fanciers, like me).
July 30, 2018
A series of short and clever vignettes that any cat lover will identify with and even dog lovers are sure to get a chuckle from. The simple art style only adds to how smart the observations are.
December 12, 2018
Now I really want a cat.
November 11, 2021
Libro de gatitos!! Muy cierto!
September 13, 2022
Cats are great and this book warms my heart. ❤🐈❤
March 20, 2023
So so cute! Read it in about 15 minutes as its mostly illustrations! For anyone who has a cat these observations are all too familiar and a few made me laugh out loud with the accuracy!
Gotta love cats🥰
Gotta love cats🥰
November 9, 2023
Gato haciendo cosas de gato, 5 de 5 ⭐️
March 30, 2024
This book shows true and funny things that all pet cats do! Recommended to all cat lovers!
June 28, 2024
3 and a 1/2 stars. So Cute, made me smile.
November 8, 2017
Made me smile when I really needed to...just like my cats do.
April 18, 2019
Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations is a primarily a collection of nine-panel cartoon pages which offer daily events in the life of a house cat. This would be things like getting under the fresh sheet when you are flicking it into the air to make the bed or watching birds through a window and giving those odd little grunts because the glass prevents a pounce. The funniest thing for me was to see how universal were the things that I often imagined to be entirely an expression of individual personality. Possibly I should be embarrassed to say that my favorite page introduced me to an auditory sequence of furball vomiting: "Hack. Ech. Ack. Hork!" The school kid-o-meter approval for the book is high, perhaps for similar reasons.
October 7, 2015
Nunca habia leido/visto nada de Jeffrey Brown, este libro simplemente lo compre por ser mini tiras cómicas de gatos, el hecho de contener imagenes de gatos y ser sobre gatos basto para ganar mi curiosidad.
Como madre de dos gatos puedo decir que me senti identificada con más de la mitad de los comics y que no paraba de reir.
Es un excelente libro/novela gráfica para aquellos que son dueños de uno o que simplemente aman a los felinos, pasaran un rato agradable y no dejaran de reir.
Como madre de dos gatos puedo decir que me senti identificada con más de la mitad de los comics y que no paraba de reir.
Es un excelente libro/novela gráfica para aquellos que son dueños de uno o que simplemente aman a los felinos, pasaran un rato agradable y no dejaran de reir.
August 28, 2021
review 1: I adore this book. I am enthralled by the drawn figure of the kitty and also impressed by the authors observations. I want to make a couple of the pages into posters or cards.
review 2: i didnt think id read this before. but clearly ive been here before and i am totally just as enthralled! it was hysterical and precious and spot on.
review 2: i didnt think id read this before. but clearly ive been here before and i am totally just as enthralled! it was hysterical and precious and spot on.
June 6, 2015
Disclaimer: I love Jeffrey Brown.
However, the reason I thoroughly enjoyed this is because I have six cats. Every single page contains behaviors I have seen in my own cats time and time again. If you have cats, or if you simply love cats, this book might be for you.
However, the reason I thoroughly enjoyed this is because I have six cats. Every single page contains behaviors I have seen in my own cats time and time again. If you have cats, or if you simply love cats, this book might be for you.
November 24, 2008
Just about the most fun you can have reading a book. Delightful.
February 13, 2011
Thank you, Becky! Perfectly describes what it's like to live with a cat, the good, the bad and the adorable.
October 26, 2013
Spot-on, and adorable.
April 21, 2016
This was so hilarious, would recommend for anyone who has had a cat before. I definitely recognised all these behaviours!
September 8, 2019
Ако имаш котка у дома в тази малка книжка може да намериш всичките и странности в комикс. Уникални илюстрации и смях с глас.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
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