You Can’t Rush a Cat. Karleen Bradford. Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2003. 32 pp., cloth, $19.95. ISBN 1-55143-247-1. Subject Heading: Cat-Juvenile fiction. Kindergarten-grade 3 / Ages 5-8. Review by Gail Hamilton. *** /4 Reviewed from f&g’s.

excerpt:

It was cold in the cellar. Every day he put more food and water out for the cat. He bought a litter box and put it down there, too. The food disappeared and the litter box got used, but of the wild little cat there was no sign at all.

Young cat lovers will enjoy this book about an elusive wild cat that eventually takes up residence in a lonely old man’s home. When Jessica visits her grandfather for a few days, Grandfather tells her about a cat living in the bushes near his house. Despite his efforts to coax the cat with food and milk, the cat refuses to come out. Jessica asks her grandfather to be patient, claiming, “You can’t rush a cat.” For the duration of Jessica’s visit, the pair tries several methods to get the cat to come inside. Finally, it enters through an open window and finds its way to the basement where Grandfather has left food and a litter box. On the last day of Jessica’s visit, the cat, now feeling a little more at home, comes out into the open and, by the time Jessica is ready to leave, Grandfather and his new feline friend are cuddling in a big chair by the fire.

     Bradford’s use of simple language and fairly short sentences sets the story’s calm, soft mood. The text, coupled with Watts’ illustrations, builds suspense. Watts provides small glimpses of the cat - a tail curled around a paint can in the cellar, the shadow of the cat’s head, a forepaw peeking out of the tall grass - to indicate the cat’s presence, but still elusive nature. Fuzzy cat bedroom slippers, cat fridge magnets and other details in the illustrations add to the cat theme. The close relationship between Jessica and her grandfather is evident through both the text and the illustrations.

Recommended.

Gail Hamilton is a teacher-librarian at Bird’s Hill School in East St. Paul, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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