No sooner is Mother Holly out the door when Cat is in trouble with the magical items around the house, including a watering can that causes spring showers and popping corn that makes thunder, in an original tale about why cats purr.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Grade 2-4-Professed cat lovers Alexander and Schachner have produced a truly charming story that's part fantasy and part fond tribute to their favorite household pet. When the Cat spends a day fishing around in Mother Holly's house instead of cleaning it up according to her instructions, he stumbles onto all kinds of trouble: her watering can becomes a rainmaker, her bellows generate a furious wind, and her popping corn rumbles like thunder. It seems he can't touch anything without creating a meteorological maelstrom within the woman's four tidy walls. Frantic to cover his tracks, Cat successfully cleans up his various messes, save for one small kernel of corn. Panicked, he pops it into his mouth, ingesting with it a muffled rumbling sound that Mother Holly loves, resulting in the first cat to purr. Alexander's original folktale evokes Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories while turning Aesop on his familiar head; in the end, the only life-lesson the Cat learns is that he can charm his way out of any predicament with the right kind of spin control. Coupled with Schachner's homespun, crazy-quilt illustrations-everything in Mother Holly's house is stuffed with down and stitched by hand-the result is pure enchantment. Children will enjoy this book when read aloud as much as they will when they curl up with it on their own.
Catherine T. Quattlebaum, DeKalb County Public Library, Atlanta, GA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Like the sorcerer's apprentice, Cat has more than he can handle when Mother Holly leaves him in charge of her cottage. To clean up a spill, Cat uses the watering can, but it unexpectedly causes a full-fledged rainstorm; the bellows he uses to fan a fire whip up howling winds; and popping corn produces thunderbolts. Alexander (The House Gobbaleen; the Prydain series) doesn't explain the mysterious occurrences until Mother Holly's return. At that point Mother Holly discloses that she uses her watering can for April showers, her bellows for March winds, etc. Cat is convinced he's going to be punished, until a kernel of corn he has swallowed makes his stomach rumble and his "marvelous song" makes Mother Holly "happy and peaceful"Athe story has opened in a time "when the Cat had no purr." Unfortunately, this pourquoi tale of magic and mayhem has such a complicated plot and so many loose ends that a young reader could easily end up as befuddled as Cat himself. Older readers, however, will enjoy Alexander's rhythmical sentences and witty dialogue. Schachner's (The Grannyman) cartoonish watercolors convey the slapstick humor and chaos, but her googly-eyed characters are often less appealing than the background details. Children will enjoy spotting carved owl bedposts, cat nesting dolls lined up on a windowsill and, especially, the two mice who appear on each page. Ages 5-9. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). 1st. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3323289-6
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Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Good condition. Acceptable dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # N17F-01242
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Missing dust jacket; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.01. Seller Inventory # G0525464492I4N01
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.01. Seller Inventory # G0525464492I3N00
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.01. Seller Inventory # G0525464492I4N10
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Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 1.21. Seller Inventory # bk0525464492xvz189zvxgdd
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Condition: Good. Schachner, Judy (illustrator). Book is in Used-Good condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. 1.21. Seller Inventory # 0525464492-2-4
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Seller: Voyageur Book Shop, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Schachner, Judith Byron (illustrator). First Edition. Full number line on the copyright page. Size: Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. D5. Seller Inventory # 007528
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Seller: Bud Plant & Hutchison Books, Cedar Ridge, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Schachner, Judith Byron (illustrator). 1st. 1st ptg., 4to picture book, illustrated boards, illustrated in color throughout by Judith Byron Schachner. A delightful tale of how the cat got his purr. Fine in very good, unclipped dj. Seller Inventory # 9737
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