Cats to the Rescue: True Tales of Heroic Felines [Hardcover]

Marilyn Singer (Author), Jean Cassels (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Do cats really have a sixth sense?

 

War hero, world traveler, adventurer, bodyguard—not the first descriptions that come to mind when we think of cats. But in this collection of true stories about the fascinating behavior of cats around the world readers will meet Grover, who saved his owners’ lives when their house caught fire. And Sugar, who spent fourteen months trekking 1,500 miles from California back home to Oklahoma.

Marilyn Singer offers a collection of inspiring cat stories, providing a historical framework and behavioral context to explain each cat’s actions.

 

Cats to the Rescue is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Singer's appreciative volume introduces cat after cat that has proven itself a hero. After a brief history of the feline's relationship with humans, the book is divided into chapters showcasing different instances in which these animals have been heroic. There are examples of fictional felines, such as Puss in Boots, and real-life cats like Bonnie, a British tortoiseshell that fought off a pair of burglars trying to steal dog food from a warehouse in 2001. Singer stretches the definition of heroism with the inclusion of chapters highlighting cats as muse, world traveler, and jack-of-all-trades. (The example of a cat that was elected mayor of Guffey, CO, in a publicity stunt is more daft than daring.) But this is a minor quibble. Cassel's black-and-white illustrations are realistic and expressive. The extensive bibliography has a good balance of text and online sources. Cat lovers will thoroughly enjoy this well-organized and entertaining work and the marvelous cats described in it, who often show that the easiest way to be a hero is to be a loving and dedicated friend.–Kara Schaff Dean, Needham Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Move over, Lassie. Cats are just as capable as dogs of protecting and rescuing their human companions. Though most owners would say falling down the stairs would barely elicit a yawn from their kitties, Singer has found a slew of cats that have done amazing things--from discovering a gas leak to locating a needed asthma inhaler. After a lively introduction and retellings of several stories, Singer discusses feline habits, including hunting. That leads to great mouse hunters (Towser, who lived in a Scottish distillery, caught almost 30,000!). Succeeding chapters cover cats who have been war heroes, world travelers, and, of course, lifesavers. Cats have even inspired great writers, such as T. S. Eliot. Along the way, Singer explains the physiological and psychological traits that make cats act the way they do. Written with affection and a bit of amazement, this book is a pleasure to read. Simple pencil drawings add interest, and the final stories about cats that survived 9/11 and Katrina are inspiring. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805074333
• ISBN-13: 978-0805074338
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,858,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides, and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories, and in 1976, her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over eighty books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling that says, "Hi. How are you? Sweet Birdie. Okay!" Her interests include ballroom/Latin dancing, dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, playing computer adventure games, and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Marilyn is the former host of the AOL Children's Writers Chat and currently co-hosts the Poetry Blast at various conferences. Visit her web site: www.marilynsinger.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fabulous! Hey, Dog People! Cats Can help, too!!!, February 5, 2010

By 

Ralph DeMattia "A Lincoln Fan" (Fayetteville, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cats to the Rescue: True Tales of Heroic Felines (Hardcover)

It was so cool to get this book, because I've always felt that although cats can't compete size-wise to rescue dogs, they could do well for them, and this book proves it! The most touching was the story of Scarlette, the cat so horribly burned rescuing her 5 kittens and how more than 4,000 offers to adopt her alone came into the fire station where she lived after the NY Fire department that saved her had adopted her. And all of her babies were also adopted after many many offers. She died last year at age 13 plus, and was buried with all honors just like a fire dog, and several towed her casket to the cemetery.(I tear up now just thinking about it). It's a great book for cat lovers, and I think even the dog crowd might like it!