Retelling of a folktale about Akiro, a young Japanese boy, whose obsession with drawing cats leads him to an adventure that would change his life. Based on a legend about the Japanese artist Sesshū Tōyō.

"Ever since he nearly drowned in the ocean three years earlier, 10-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been deathly afraid to venture outdoors. Refusing to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine, Jack Peter spends his time drawing monsters. When those drawings take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror they inspire. His mother, Holly, begins to hear strange sounds in the night coming from the ocean, and she seeks answers from...

"One afternoon a small boy hears a melody coming from a nearby park. When he investigates he finds a lone rabbit playing the piano so he joins in with his harmonica to make a duet. More animals emerge from the wood to add to the music. Their music fills the whole park. When a bird came by who did not have an instrument she was asked to sing. Their magical concert drew listeners from out of the woods."--Cataloguer.

An artistic young boy's love for drawing cats gets him into trouble and leads him to a mysterious experience. Based on a Japanese legend.

Presents an anthology of the best literary essays published in the past year, selected from American periodicals.