Our Booklist: But Who Will Bell the Cats

Children's author Cynthia von Buhler has just come out with a new book, But Who Will Bell the Cats. What I found most intriguing was how she chronicled her amazing DIY sets in the making of the book and the upstairs/downstairs world within the castle. It was truly a family affair with her mom sewing the props and her dad helping out with construction! To see how Cynthia built the incredible sets for her book, click here.


"In addition to having written this story, I was also the painter, sculptor, interior decorator, mason, gardener, and plumber of the sets. The rooms were built by hand from wood. The stone walls were formed from plaster. The floors are handmade from inlaid wood, mother-of-pearl, and plaster. The characters were painted in oils on gessoed paper, then cut out and placed in the sets. I photographed the scenes with a Nikon D300. This working blog gives you a glimpse into the process of how I created the sets and characters. I made this blog for my editor and designer so they could view my progress, but now I have opened it up for all to see. Enjoy!" - Cynthia von Buhler

Cynthia at work on the exterior of the castle where the characters live.

Cutout window panels for the bedroom. Her mother sewed curtains and a bedspread
out of vintage fabric.
A wing chair in the library.

Do I see a miniature shrimp cocktail sitting on that plate?

Vintage wine labels served as posters in the wall of the mouse's room.

Cynthia created the mini ping-pong paddles while her mother sewed the net.