The Cats of Roxville Station - Hardcover

George, Jean Craighead

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525421408 ISBN 13: 9780525421405

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

Rachet was thrown into a river to drown. But she claws up the riverbank and finds a home with the feral cats living by the Roxville train station. Amid foxes, raccoons, owls, and hostile humans, the cats fight for territory, hunt, and are hunted. Mike, a foster child, lives near the station. He spots Rachet and sets his heart on befriending her. But Mike must learn to ?speak? the language of cats to gain wily Rachet?s trust. This gorgeous novel from two-time Newbery medalist Jean Craighead George offers insight into feline behavior as it explores the wonder of friendship and the natural world hiding among us.

About this title

About the Author:

Jean Craighead George is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, including the Newbery Award-winning Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain. She lives in Chappaqua, New York.

Tom Pohrt is the renowned illustrator of several bestselling children's books. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

From Booklist:

George, whose writings have taken readers many places in the natural world, now brings them a story set close to home: a New York train station, the gathering spot of a group of feral cats. Ratchet, an orange-and-white cat, is dumped on the road. Suddenly on her own, she must adapt to the life of an outdoor cat, foraging for food, finding a place to live, avoiding predators, and adjusting to the feral-cat hierarchy. There’s a boy, too, Mike, who wants to bring her home; unfortunately, his foster mother hates cats. Without anthropomorphism, yet personalizing her characters, George follows Ratchet as she leaves kittenhood and becomes the savvy feline who can watch out for herself as well as her eventual kittens. Simply and directly, George weaves the whys and wherefores of cats’ lives (as well as those of other animals) into a smooth narrative. The adult characters are sometimes overdrawn, especially Mike’s unpleasant foster mother, but with the felines in the forefront, they’re easily ignored. This is a book kids will both enjoy and learn from. Grades 4-6. --Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0525421408
• ISBN 13: 9780525421405
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Illustrator: Pohrt Tom