Tuesday, March 20, 2007

It's like this, cat


It's like this, cat was written by Emily Neville and illustrated by Emil Weiss. This book was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1964.

This is a warm story about a boy in his early to mid-teens who lives in New York City. Dave Mitchell is fourteen years old. He befriends a stray cat whom he met at the crazy cat lady's house. The crazy cat lady lives down the way from Dave and her name is Kate. Kate keeps to herself and loves her cats. One day Dave visits her and was given the opportunity to take a stray cat home. He names the cat Cat.

Dave has a friend named Nick whom he spends time with. The boys decide to go to Coney Island to spend the day at the beach. Dave convinces Nick that Cat should come along. Cat goes to the beach with the boys. Nick and Dave meet three girls at the beach. Two of the girls are more adventurous and struck up a flirtatious conversation with Nick. The other one notices Cat. Dave and the other girl, Mary, have personalities that hit it off. Although they enjoy each other's company, neither exchange phone numbers.

Tom, a burglar Dave met in the cellar when he was looking for Cat, befriended Dave. Dave learned that Tom dropped out of college and didn't have a relationship with his father. In fact, Tom really appreciated how much Dave's father budded into his son's business. Dave didn't quite appreciate what Tom saying. Tom sought Dave's father's advise on many occasions.

Mary and Dave meet again on a predetermined date and place. They spend time together and discover they both have similar tastes (i.e. movies, animals, etc...).

In the end, Tom asks his girlfriend to marry him, Dave sees his dad in a different light, Cat becomes a fixture of the Mitchell family, and Mary and Dave become an item. The one thing Dave, Mary, Tom, and Mr. Mitchell have in common was Cat.

MY TWO AND A HALF CENTS:
I enjoyed this John Newbery Medal book. I was gripped by the story of a young man, his relationship with his father, and the animal relationship. Dave has your typical adolescence relationship with his father, an intense yet they both care about each other. Cat, the animal, is Dave's confidant and security. Cat was his friend and his way of connecting with others. As I read this Newbery book I thought of my son and his pesky cat named Roxy. Like Dave's father, I can not stand cats. To my horror, we now have three: Max who adopted us 17 years ago, Roxy who we got 10ish years ago to keep Max company, and Tea Cup who adopted us last year. Max and Roxy live in the house (yuck) and Tea Cup is an outdoor cat. Dustin, my son, claims Roxy and Tea-Cup as his own personal animals/friends. Animals are an important part of a child's life. Although I literally have a cow regarding the triad of cats in my home, I realize the value of an animal in the life of a child (irregardless of his age). Like Dave's dad, the cat(s) grew on me and have become a meaningful part of our life. I recommend this book.

AR QUIZ: 90%

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