Tabitha: The Fabulous Flying Feline

Timmel, Carol Ann

ISBN 10: 0802784496 ISBN 13: 9780802784490

Publisher: Walker & Co, 1996

Synopsis

Relates the true-life story of Tabitha, a cat who escapes from her carrying cage on a cross-country jet flight and her owner's subsequent search for the missing cat.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-This delightful story relates the upheaval caused by a cat who gets loose in the cargo hold during a cross-country flight. Timmel alternates the owner's frantic perspective with the feline's-the latter being similar to a child's: packing boxes are for play, loud noises are bothersome, and unfamiliar people are scary. It is only the pressure the media puts on the airline that yields a sweet reunion 13 days and 30,000 air miles later. Children will be intrigued by the scenes inside the airplane walls, amused by the balding and bulgy passengers and the crew's antics, and amazed to discover that the tale is based on a true event in the lives of the author and her cat. Kelly supplements her full-page watercolors with smaller, closely cropped, framed views-an effective device that creates a series of "snapshots." An endnote and an accompanying photograph of the author and The Fabulous Flying Feline serve to assure readers of the cat's current well being. The happy ending is sure to please animal lovers, those with separation anxiety, and anyone who has ever had to deal with a customer-service department. A real find for family sharing.
Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Timmel tells, in the omniscient third-person, the true story of her cat's disappearance during a flight from New York to Los Angeles. Carol Ann is moving to Los Angeles, and her cat, Tabitha, has to ride with the baggage. When the baggage is unloaded, Tabitha's cage is empty; a bit of a scaredy-cat about other people and large noises, Tabitha has gone into hiding in the walls of the plane. Carol Ann searches for the lost feline, but the plane is so noisy with fuel trucks, mechanics, and vacuum cleaners between flights that Tabitha can't hear anyone calling for her. The plane continues to shuttle back and forth between New York and Los Angeles, but in spite of many searches, Tabitha logs 13 days and over 30,000 miles of flying time before she is found. Timmel does a reasonably good job of characterizing her cat and herself; still, the cat-in-the- bowels-of-the-plane sections are the freshest and most intriguing, in terms of both text and illustrations. Kelly's detailed watercolors ably assist the story and add their own touches of humor. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0802784496
• ISBN 13: 9780802784490
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Kelly Laura