The Cat That Could Spell Mississippi [Hardcover]

Laura Hawkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1992 | Age Level: 9 and up

Desperate to make the fourth-grade girls of her new school like her, Linda Cappanelli cheats on her spelling test, feuds with a classmate, and consults a psychic cook.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Popularity would be great, but Linda Cappanelli would settle for friendship with just one girl in her new class. Unfortunately, fourth grade girls can be cliquey, and popular Tammy Collins has a nasty way of excluding her. Cheating on a spelling test, exaggerating, and almost stealing are a few of the means to which Linda resorts in order to win friends. Fortunately for her, wise adult mentors have a way of dispensing good advice. Parmalee Swain, the neighborhood clairvoyant who runs a diner but can't cook, tells her, ``Figure out what's special about you.'' Grampy tells her that ``cheating . . . never solves anything.'' Most of the characters (Parmalee; her twin sister who can cook; Linda's brother, Ian; and even Tammy) discover their own special gifts. So much self-discovery would be a bit too much to swallow, were it not for the occasional humorous passage. The cat that gives the book its title becomes little more than a symbol in the end, as Ian tells his sister: ``I learned that I'm an awful lot like that cat. I don't let anybody get close to me. That's why I don't have any friends.'' The message is laudable, but the medium is often far from subtle. --Ruth Smith, formerly at Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; First edition. edition (October 26, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395616271
• ISBN-13: 978-0395616277
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,635,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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