Carbonel [Paperback]

Barbara Sleigh (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin (1974)
• ASIN: B000OER13Q
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lifetime Favorite, February 25, 2001

By 

"zeeter" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carbonel, the King of the Cats (Hardcover)

Rosemary and John search and retrieve items necessary to set Carbonel free from the spell holding him as a witch's cat. It concludes with Carbonel's battle to regain his kingdom. Set in England, the adventure includes references to English life in the 1950's may be a bit confusing to a young American reader but well worth several trips to the dictionary. Appropriate for 6th grade level, it's the first of 3 books written by Barbara Sleigh involving Carbonel and the easiest to obtain. If you like the Harry Potter books, consider this one seriously.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The beginning of a lifetime love of reading, March 5, 2003

By 

Mark T. Doherty (Longmont, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carbonel, the King of the Cats (Hardcover)

My mom gave me this book when I was 8 years old. Hesitantly, I started reading it, and was immediately hooked. It is the first chapter book I remember reading, and I owe my love of literature to Barbara Sleigh and Carbonel. Before the advent of the Internet, I spent many years trying to track down copies of all the Carbonel books, with limited success. Then one day, I discovered that they had had been reissued in the United Kingdom. I was in law school at the time, and my wife told me we couldn't afford them. Imagine my surprise, that Christmas, when I found them under the tree! My wife had called a bookstore in London, and had them shipped to the US just in time for the holidays. I'm now 39 years old, and still reread those books about once a year. I have read them to both my children, and they have read them by themselves. I think we can all look back on our lives, and find one or two events that shape aspects of our future. For me, a British book about a little girl, a witch and a magical, royal cat set me on a road where books became some of my most cherished possessions, and reading my most enjoyable pasttime. Read the books; feel the magic.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I barely remember..., July 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Carbonel, the King of the Cats (Hardcover)

I read this book as a grade school kid long ago, and was profoundly affected. The idea of cats having an entire culture that we humans were unaware of was mind-blowing. I never again looked at a cat walking down the street or lying by the fire without wondering what thoughts were running through his head, and wishing I could talk to him. I think I remember that Carbonel was a housepet and learned from a stranger in the night that the old king had died and he was now king and would have to learn his role and duties. It was fascinating, and I checked it out of the library many times. I'd love to read it again...