Tigger And Jasper’s New Home by Cheryl Gillespie is a short picture book detailing the life of two stray cats who are suddenly rescued into a new home. The cats explored their new home and tried to make sense of all the new things in their lives. This sweet tale takes a twist near the end while the kittens learn about their new owner. Overall an enjoyable read, with a song to add into story-time sing along times.

-Danielle Reynolds, Public Services & Collections Librarian at the Rapid City Public Library, South Dakota

Tigger and Jasper are two little kittens living on a noisy farm. They wait patiently to find a forever home, just like their brothers and sisters have. One day, they are collected by a man in a ‘big scary truck’ who takes them to the home of their new owner, a caring and gentle lady called Christie. The kittens soon feel at home with Christie, and they have lots of fun exploring her house and getting into mischief. Towards the end of the story, the kittens first realise that Christie’s ‘eyes don’t work’. Tigger pats her eyes with her paw, and Christie senses that the kittens know that she is blind. As the three new friends snuggle up in one big bed, Tigger decides to care for Christie just like she cares for her and Jasper. She realises why Christie is so special: she loves her and her sister.

Things we liked:
Some young children may assume that a blind person would be unable to do many things without help. This entertaining story portrays a blind woman who does many things for herself (she plays and teaches the piano, plays ball with the kittens, hangs up and sorts clothes and rescues the kittens from the bath tub and the fridge when their curiosity gets the better of them!). Tigger and Jasper feel safe and nurtured in her care. The most apparent thing about Christie is not her blindness, but her love and kindness. The important message that people should not be defined by their disabilities rings out in this picture book.

Worth noting:
Michael Le Blanc's child-like illustrations may appear a little on the clunky side to adults, but our young readers found them very appealing and enjoyed pointing out the kitten's antics in the pictures.
Suggested questions to ask young children: "How do you think you could help a person like Christie, and how do you think they could help you?"

Reviewed by Chloe Humphreys for Resource Links

Gentle and heartwarming, Tigger and Jasper’s New Home tells the story of two rambunctious kittens named Tigger and Jasper who come into the care of Christie, a kind piano teacher. Immediately, the kittens sense that there is "something very different about Christie, yet something very special." Over the course of the day, the kittens experience a number of humorous adventures that include being accidentally knocked into the bathtub and shut into the fridge by Christie. Nearing bedtime, the kittens finally piece together that Christie is blind and that’s why she’s so unique. The book ends on a sweet note with Christie singing a lullaby to her new feline family members.

The story is inspired by the real-life relationship between Gillespie and her two cats, and succeeds at gracefully introducing a blind character to children. Gillespie’s writing style is descriptive and accessible, developing the kitten’s personalities to great effect. Children will delight in Tigger and Jasper’s playful, curious and high-spirited attitudes. LeBlanc’s cartoonish illustrations only enhance the humour inherent in the kitten’s escapades, highlighting their facial expressions and the colourful objects in their environment. Both kittens respond to Christie’s blindness with love, modelling acceptance and support clearly for young readers. Children will also understand that despite Christie’s blindness, she’s independent and capable, making her a strong female character that is well developed and relatable.

Tigger and Jasper’s New Home is a lovely book that should be a part of all Canadian library collections.

Reviewed by Chris Stead for Old Mate Media

Author Cheryl Gillespie and illustrator Michael LeBlanc open a unique door into the life of a blind woman, and her love for her two cats.

Cheryl Gillespie is blind. She has been since her early childhood. It’s a telling fact about this unique indie author that makes her desire to create a children’s picture book all the more intriguing. It’s abstract, eye-catching art a sight she’ll never see for herself. An award-winning pianist and music teacher, she hails from Fredericton New Brunswick, Canada and teamed up with her brother-in-law, Michael LeBlanc, to create Tigger and Jasper’s New Home. It’s now available in digital form alongside the print edition, which was first published way back in 1996.

Despite starring a little girl called Christie, Tigger and Jasper’s New Home is in fact Cheryl Gillespie’s own true story. The kittens Tigger and Jasper were born on May 20, 1990, and have long since passed away. However, their impact on a blind Canadian lady is clearly warmly remembered. In fact, before you even start reading, there’s a powerful emotional backbone to this title you can’t ignore. If most of us can only imagine what life might have been like for a young blind girl, Cheryl Gillespie lived it. So she knows exactly what having two feline best friends meant to her.

Tigger and Jasper’s New Home – Story Review
Tigger and Jasper’s New Home starts in Douglastown, a small village hugging the Gulf of St Lawrence on Canada’s south-eastern coast. We meet our two newborn kittens, who dream of a life away from all the scary loud noises of their farm. Their dreams are realised when they are gifted to a new owner called Christie. Christie’s piano playing replacing the tractor sounds, as she sings to herself and teaches children all about music.

However, over the course of the book and a series of misadventures, the two cats discover their new owner is blind. They embrace this difference, and we get a powerful sensation of the symbiotic relationship that forms between a blind owner and her pets. Both so heavily reliant on the other and willing to accept their flaws so completely. I adore the way Cheryl Gillespie’s word choice reveals how a blind individual “sees” the world. On that note alone, I’m better for having read this book. Plus, I feel I can use it as an entry point to explain blindness to my children.

I’m a big fan of Michael LeBlanc’s art. Bright and relatively simplistic, the images smartly keep the perspective from that of the two kittens. The soft, lazy edges to each image work in the book’s favour to further capture that feeling of looking back into the past. It’s almost like a dream. A book of such honesty deserved this kind of organic art. And mixing in a few background-less character images also adds nice flair to the package.

The inclusion, at the book’s finale, of a song is the perfect ending. A connection between Christie the young blind lady and Cheryl the veteran, award-winning musician. This is an easy book to like and I highly recommend it.

Tigger and Jasper’s New Home – Technical Review
As much as I enjoy Tigger and Jasper’s New Home, I would have liked to have seen more done with the layout of the new digital edition. While it works on larger devices, on smaller screens it suffers a tad. It’s certainly readable, but more space could have been given to the images. The relationship between the images and the text is sometimes out of whack, too. For example, splitting a paragraph of text from the page with its related image, but positioned before it. As such, the visualisation of the scene comes after the text, which is not ideal for kids. There are also some overly text-heavy sections, and I would have preferred to have seen these split by more art to help hold a child’s attention.

None of the issues are present in the print edition, which has a more flowing feel and doesn’t feel as overweighed by text. With facing pages, the art and text fit more snugly together. I do however think a big misstep was taken with the cover, which goes for a hand-drawn title. This looks amateurish, and I fear could turn many people away from the cleaner, more enjoyable layout within.

Read more at http://oldmatemedia.com/tigger-and-jaspers-new-home-review/

Reviewed by James A. Cox: Midwest Book Review, ~Children’s Bookwatch Magazine~

Cheryl Gillespie, Author
Michael LeBlanc, Illustrator

“Tigger and Jasper's New Home" is a gentle story about the loving adoption of two kittens by a special musician and teacher. Introducing young readers to an awareness of blindness, "Tigger and Jasper's New Home" presents delicate, spunky pastel portraits of two kittens, one orange and one gray, born on a farm near Douglastown, New Brunswick. One day the farmer took the kittens to their new home with a loving lady who made music and taught piano students. The kittens had funny adventures in their new home, tangling yarn balls, getting hidden in the closet, falling into the bathtub water, and getting shut in the refrigerator. Each time the kittens got lost or hidden, Christie, their owner, found them by hearing their plaintive mews. After a day of fun and play, the kittens settled quietly on Christie's lap to snuggle and purr. One of the kittens came to a realization, which she communicated to her sibling: "I think I understand why Christie is so very unique,....Her eyes don't work,.... she can't see." She patted Christie's pale blue eyes with her velvet paws. From then on, the kittens knew that they would look after Christie and she would take care of them. This loving, true story of reciprocal love between felines and a human tells young readers much about ways of perceiving others in the world around us. "Tigger and Jasper's New Home" ends with a lullaby, which can be sung to humans as well as kittens.

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/aug_17.htm#Picturebook

Reviewed for Children's Bookwatch: September 2017
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane Donovan, Editor

Tigger And Jasper's New Home
Cheryl Louise Gillespie, author
Michael A. LeBlanc, illustrator

Charmingly written by Cheryl Gillespie and appealing illustrated by Michael LeBlanc, "Tigger And Jasper's New Home" is the heart warming picture book story of two kittens who through amusing happenings in their new home soon learn that Christie, their guardian, is blind. Sharing her true experiences of Tigger and Jasper, Cheryl Gillespie, (who is blind from her early childhood) gently acquaints children to the character of Christie -- a young blind woman. A deftly crafted and thoroughly 'kid friendly' story of humor and the human condition "Tigger And Jasper's New Home" will prove to be an enduringly popular and entertaining addition to family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for young readers.

Reviewed by Lorna d’Entremont for Special Needs Book Review
September 27, 2017

Congratulations to a fellow Canadian who lives in the Maritimes for her heart warming children’s book about blindness! The delightful picture book titled Tigger And Jasper’s New Home by Cheryl Gillespie is brought to life by the colorful illustrations by Michael Allison LeBlanc. Ms. Gillespie, blind from early childhood, has written a touching story about her adoption of two adorable, curious kittens. Teachers, parents, and other caregivers can use this book as an entry point to discuss blindness with children.

Other themes in this story are acceptance of differences and the importance of caring, respect, and support for each other as shown by the characters in Tigger And Jasper’s New Home. This is a book to be read and re-read to savor the skillful use of words and delightful illustrations to convey the story. After the first reading, once the reader knows of the woman’s blindness, re-reading will allow the reader to see how independent and content she is and how this capable woman earns her living by giving piano lessons.