All the Cats of Cairo - Softcover

Schaenen, Inda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0976812657 ISBN 13: 9780976812654

Publisher: Brown Barn Books, 2007

Synopsis

In Cairo for a year with her diplomat mother and artist father, Meg is intrigued with the hieroglphs on the ancient monuments, as well as by the myriad of cats who wander freely through the streets, cemeteries, and mosques of the city. When she befriends a mysterious old woman and her grandson, she is given a small statuette of the ancient Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet. The statuette beomes hot in Meg's hand when there are hints that the ruins of Bastet's sanctuary are threatened by an American industrial development. Bastet's disciples, the cats of Cairo, are leading Meg to try to stop the development and rescue the children who are being forced, as near slaves, to work in the new factory. In a climax at the groundbreaking for the development, Bastet acts (or is it an earthquake?)to prevent the destruction of her site and to rescue the abducted child laborers.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

The old woman’s gift—a small bronze figurine of the ancient Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet—is fine, but why does it grow hot in Maggie’s hand? And why, everywhere she goes in Cairo with her artist father and diplomat mother, does Maggie see cats? Do they have some connection to Bastet, goddess of balance and abundance? Now a factory is about to be built on the site of the goddess’s temple. These plans would destroy the tombs of the ancient sacred cats, mummified thousands of years ago. Needing help to restore good to Egypt in the modern world, the goddess has awakened angry from her millennia-long sleep. Is Bastet mysteriously speaking to Maggie through her disciples, the myriad of cats wandering freely through the streets, cemeteries, markets and mosques of modern Cairo? If so, Maggie must take action to protect the tombs. But what can Maggie do? She doesn’t speak much Arabic, and she doesn’t know her way around Cairo. With determination and the aid of an Egyptian boy she has befriended, Maggie must battle powerful enemies--some strange, some all-too-familiar--that are set upon destroying the very life force of Egypt and her children.

About the Author:

Inda Schaenen is the author of two adult books, The 7 O'Clock Bedtime (featured on the Today Show) and Things are Crazy Right Now. ALL THE CATS OF CAIRO is her debut novel for young adults, and is based on her love of Egyptian archaeology and her concern for children. She lives with her husband and kids in St. Louis.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brown Barn Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0976812657
• ISBN 13: 9780976812654
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 225