Customer Reviews

Blue Cat of Castle Town

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I read this book as a child and still love it at 60. The book speaks about what it means to be an authentic human being through a parable about a special kitten who must find his way in the world on his own and triumphs over loss, disappointment, and exploitation to find self-realization. "'Sing your own song,' said the River, 'sing well.'" It is never too late to sing your own song, if your heart will let you. How the cat learned to do this is worth learning at any age. Now this is how I interpret what goes on in the story in today's vocabulary, not how the author puts it, but my point is the book is just as relevant today as when originally written. The experiences of this cat will hit home with all too many people today, both children and adults. The book is beautifully written by Catherine Coblentz, a lady who by the way spearheaded the establishment of the Cleveland Park branch of the D.C. Library, where there are etched glass drawings from the book. If kids today would buy in to a book like this and Wordsworth's Happy Warrior, they would have a better chance of growing up whole.

I read this book in 4th grade. The reading level is about 5-7th grade, not for babies or toddlers. The plot of the book is based on a number of items in the Metropolitan Museum of Art which all hale from a town in Vermont called Castleton. One of them is hand-woven carpet with a blue cat depicted on it. Another is a pewter teapot. Around these artifacts and the small amounts of information that could be gleaned on their history, the author has built a charming tale of a blue kitten in search of a home. Since he was born under a blue moon, the kitten can only find a home and a hearth in the house of a human who knows (or can be taught) the River's Song. The River's Song is the Song of Creation, of the making of beautiful things. The kitten encounters many inhabitants of Castletown in his quest and finds them falling under the dark spell of Arunah Hyde, whose whole interest is speed and wealth. The kitten himself nearly falls under the same spell, but escapes at the last minute. His quest seems doomed to fail, however, until he crosses the path of a lonely, ugly girl. This is a book that does not deserve to be out of print. It could easily be used in the classroom as a lesson in early American culture and history, but is also a just a very enjoyable and moving read.

I read this book when I was eight and it was one of my favorites--something magical and yet so real about this blue cat and its quest. Yet it was The River's Song that was the most compelling part of the book for me...the need to find one's own song, to create beauty in one's life and work, not directly to seek riches and power. I would credit it as one of the influences in my choosing writing children's books as a career. Over 60 published books later, I am stilll happily trying to sing my own song. Thank you dear spirit of Catherine Coblentz for your gentle guide to living. This book is a treasure for those who find it.

This book made me laugh and made me cry. It also did something that very few books have done before, it gave me hope. The book demonstrates how a love of honesty and beauty affect the lives of different people in different ways. It never falters or leaves the reader hanging. The best read in a long time!

I read this book as a child and love it still as a grandmother. The Blue Cat and the song of the river inspired me to look for beauty, truth and integrity in my life, to value the stength of love and honesty. " All that is worth doing is worth doing well, sang the river. With your life fashion beauty. Riches will pass and power, beauty remains. Sing your own song" {From the book} This book is wonderfull for children and all ages.

I grew up in Castleton Vermont, where this story is set. I never realized that it was so well-known, I always thought it was only a locally known book, but it's a story that's always been dear to my heart. If we could all learn to sing the song of the river, the whole world could be as beautiful as our little town.

The copy I received was sent promptly in good shape. This is a lovely paperback children's book about a little blue cat searching for a home to match his song. It has a mature message about the importance of beauty in art, rather than creating art for money alone. It is based on historical information which gives additional interest.

Set in a kinder, gentler Vermont this quiet charmer by Coblentz permits readers to relax and savor the humble pleasures of a sleepy village through which a river meanders--a town where craftsmen take true pride in the creation of works of beauty. But then rich resident Arunah Hyde decides to make Castleton the center of the universe, with his fast coaches and dreams of even faster trains. Speed is all that matters as he insidiously weaves his Dark Spell--demanding faster work and shoddy standards, for he is obsessed with Time and cares naught for things of lasting beauty.

Inspired by a visit to a NY Art Museum the author was impressed by a tapestry which included a blue cat in one of the hand-woven squares. While accompanying her husband on an extended business trip to Castleton, she decided to research the local folk
lore surrounding a blue cat, whose almost invisible trail included works of handcraft admired to this day. A church pulpit and a hand woven linen table cloth are among its treasures.

A blue kitten is born in a fragrant field by the river, and to his mother's dismay, and against her strict warning, begins to listen to its song--unable to resist; yes, destined to learn its song. No normal life will this kitten with only three black hairs on its tail live out, for he must teach the river's song to one mortal before he may find his home and hearth. Not an easy task when Arunah Hyde is spreading the dark spell throughout the town; besides, who will listen to the plaintive mewing of an orphan cat? Will the trusting Blue Cat be able to resist the clever trap set by Arunah--who has evil designs on him?

You too can seek and enjoy the Bright Enchantment of this storybook village, if you visit this charming town in September. Then the locals reenact the tale on a delightful Blue Cat Tour, by a uniformed guide, during which the story comes alive for readers and all cat lovers. This has remained one of my favorite childhood books for many decades and may secretly have whispered to me that I should move to Vermont some day.