Customer Reviews

How the Cat Swallowed Thunder

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Cat lovers, rejoice! Here's another paean to our favorite feline pet. Schachner's illustrations are hysterical as cat gets into all the mischief anyone can imagine - from tangling in the thread of his mistress's spinning wheel to climbing into the cupboard and creating chaos among the crockery.

Never one to clean up his own messes, cat considers housework and pushing a broom "weary" work (we agree). Nonetheless, in Mother Holly's absence he spills the soup, and while trying to clean up turns the kitchen into a duck pond. He also releases feathers from a quilt, and makes a myriad of messes.

Nonetheless, Mother Holly dotes on her pet, just as we do on ours. Animal lovers have found a kindred soul.

My Grandson, at age 2 years and 9 months picked this out because of the picture on the cover. I thought he wouldn't understand and enjoy it because of the British expressions. Was I ever wrong! He loves it and I love reading it to him. After two days he was playfully using the expression "I'll be in a pickle for sure" and telling his mother he had swallowed some thunder after eating some corn. Now two months later, I was surprised that he has practically memorized the book (the first six pages completely - and there are a lot of words, many of them quite unusual, on those six pages. He often suggests we "tidy up the cottage". Mother Holly is a great help with learning good behavior and, even after all the excitement, he usually goes to sleep when the cat does.

This one has just about everything to offer that I like in a children's book. The story line is great, the writing is precise without being pretentious, there is a good moral to the story, it is told in a fairytale/folktale mode and the art work is great. It is not too long and not too short. If an adult is reading this one to the child it will hold up over many readings without sending the adult's eyeballs to the back of their head after about the 100th time through.

Mother Holly (Who we figure out quite quickly is actually Mother Nature), has a cat named Cat. Cat is a typical cat; self indulgent, rather laid back, a bit lazy, mischievous...all in all a bit of a rascal and was always in trouble. Mother Holly never let him out of her sight; which sort of show you how wise Mother Nature actually is. Cat, oddly enough, could not purr!

One day Mother Holly tells the cat she must leave for a bit to take care of the other creatures in the world. She tells Cat "Cat, of all my creatures in this world, there's none like you for setting things topsy-turvy. But now it's time you learn to behave and to make yourself useful."

The cat is given specific instructions as to what chores to perform and how to behave while Mother Holly is gone. She informs cat that "And, when I come back, if I find even one thing amiss - then, believe me, it will be so much the worse for you." The cat agrees - right!

Of course as soon as the old lady leaves the door, Cat does what cat does best - setting things topsy-turvey!

Now how the cat swallowed thunder, and thereby acquiring the ability to purr, is what the story is about. As I make it a solid practice to never-ever-ever place spoilers in my reviews I fear that you must read this one yourself.

I will let you know that Cat does try; in Cat's own way, but everything he does just makes things worse and worse. To be frank, the story is rather hilarious.

This is a pure fantasy folk tale. The art work by Judith Byron Schachner is absolutely top rate and captures the essence of the story perfectly.

I am forced to place this work on by most favorite list where it should have been all along.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

In the beginning, cats did not purr, but they did get into mischief. Old Mother Holly has a cat and he was one that was constantly getting into trouble. One day, Mother Holly had to go out and she gave Cat a list of tasks to do while she was gone. At the end of the list, she included a very stern "Or Else!" However, Cat being a cat, decided to do things differently. He started doing one thing and it went wrong and then every attempt to fix a problem created a new one. Feathers, water and popcorn were all flying through the house. In a flurry of great effort, Cat barely managed to get it all cleaned up. The last thing he did was pop some stray popcorn into his mouth.
When Mother Holly arrived, she was pleased to see that all was done and she promised Cat a treat. Unfortunately, the popcorn started making noises in Cat's stomach. The noise was a soft one and even though Cat confessed to all his failures, Mother Holly forgot about that as she listened to the soft sound emanating from Cat. She found the noise pleasurable and asked Cat to do it again. After a short time, both Mother Holly and Cat were sound asleep.
There is something very comforting about the purr of a cat; it is certainly part of the reason why humans, especially children, have an instinctive love of cats. This story, an "explanation" of the purr, is one that will delight children and amuse adults.

As I said before, the title of this book was the attraction for me. I actually found the illustrations a little fearful. I personally would have liked to have seen brighter colors used in the illustrations and utilizing the title for a more whimsical tale. That being said, I still purchased several copies of the book and give it as a gift -- especially when one is focusing on the acquisition of a cat as a pet for the little one in the house.