Mrs. Merriwether's Musical Cat

After Mrs. Merriwether, the Peachtree Lane piano teacher, takes in Beethoven, the cat, the neighborhood takes on a harmonious new atmosphere, until Beethoven suddenly disappears and the music of Peachtree Lane turns sour.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-The rhythmic twitching of a cat's tail is the purr-fect foil for this charming, syncopated tale. Mrs. Merriwether lives an ordinary life in an ordinary town teaching three pupils piano lessons on Tuesday afternoons. Morton Highbrow mangles Mozart and butchers Bach, Florence Danube's favorite waltzes lack the proper beat, and Rhonda Rockwell has energy but no talent for bopping out the "Top Forty." When a stray cat leaps onto Mrs. Merriwether's piano and begins waving its tail in time to the music, the three students are transformed into virtuosos, Mrs. Merriwether has a new friend and new vitality, and Peach Tree Lane is no longer ordinary. When the cat, appropriately named Beethoven, suddenly disappears, a metronome proves to be no substitute and Tuesdays become worse than boring. When the cat returns with an ensemble of kittens, the glorious music and euphoria resumes. Children will not foresee the ending due to the orchestration of the story's pacing, the surprise element, and clever touches of visual and verbal detail. Mathers's colorful paintings are just jazzy and offbeat enough to create a tempo that's whimsical and upbeat. Text and pictures play in harmonious concert here.
Julie Cummins, New York Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Purdy (Least of All) and Mathers (Sophie and Lou; Victor and Christabel) hit some high notes in this picture book about a stray cat's surprising effect on a piano teacher and her pupils. Mrs. Merriwether leads an "ordinary" life on Peach Tree Lane, "an ordinary street in an ordinary town." Her favorite day of the week is Tuesday, when she gives piano lessons to three children from the neighborhood. Unfortunately Mrs. Merriwether's students don't seem to be improving, tending to make more noise than music. But a friendly white feline whose tail swishes like a metronome changes everything. The young pianists play like prodigies, Mrs. Merriwether spruces up her house and buys a "wild" red dress, and Peach Tree Lane is ordinary no longer. But when the cat disappears, things threaten to revert to type. Purdy's well-paced text makes the most of a slight premise and Mathers's expressive paintings further energize the proceedings with their abundance of understated humorous details and their rich palette. Music aficionados and cat lovers especially will find much to like here, but just about everyone will want to join in the ivory-tickling fun. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-8. Mrs. Merriwether gives piano lessons to the kids of Peach Tree Lane, and although Morton massacres Mozart, Florence staggers through Strauss, and Rhonda's renditions of the Top Forty are full of more spirit than talent, Mrs. Merriwether encourages her students' efforts. One day a stray cat wanders through the window and curls up on the piano. The steady swish of its tail has the amazing effect of improving the students' performances, so Mrs. Merriwether names it Beethoven. But when the cat disappears, the students flounder; only when Beethoven reappears leading a litter of kittens, whose tails also keep time, do things get back to normal. Accompanied by appealing illustrations that feature bold colors and strong lines, Purdy's engaging tale will strike a chord with cat fanciers and music students alike. Linda Ward-Callaghan