Customer Reviews

Jane on Her Own (Catwings)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jane On her Own, by Ursula K. Le Guin, is a marvelous and imaginative story about a cat with wings named Jane. Jane lives on a farm with other winged cats. The elder cats caution her about the danger of being a winged cat and traveling away from the farm. "Being different is difficult." Just the same, Jane is young and wants to have adventures so she flies off to the city anyway. Upon arriving in the city Jane meets a nice man who nonetheless wants to profit off of her uniqueness. The man keeps Jane against her will, making her a television sensation. Later, after Jane escapes the man, she finds her mother and takes up permanent residence with a kindly old woman. In the end Jane learns the value of freedom and being unique. Le Guin's writing is simple and beautifully understated. The illustrations by S.D. Schindler are wonderful and evocative. I loved Jane
On her Own and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

Preston McClear

It's about Jane Tabby who is tired and bored being cooped up in the barn and never getting to go out in the world and have adventures and be free. So she goes out into the city and finds out the hard way that being fancy isn't what she wants. What she really wants is to be happy, free, AND live in a cozy home. She was cooped up in the city too. In the end, she finds all three.

Jane On Her Own, is a book about six cats that all have wings except one. There mother did not have wings. Jane was the yongest out of Thelma, Roger, Harriet, James, and there friend Alexander Furby. Jane got sick of the old farm and traveled to the big city. She met a man named Poppa he kept her in cages and made her do tricks for strange people. Finly Jane escaped and went to see her mother who also lived in the city. That night she squeezed though the window and got on the bed and layed next to her mom. The next morning Sarah Wolf had wocken to see a beautiful black cat with wings. She was very nice to Jane, Sarah evan left the window open for if Jane wanted to leve. Jane would something leve and go see Alexander Furby and have long chats and then fly back to the city. Jane Became a free cat.

Jane On Her Own is a book about six cats that all have wings except one. There mother did not have wings. Jane was the youngest out of Thelma, Roger, Harriet, James, and their friend Alexander Furby. Jane got sick of the old farm and traveled to the big city. She met a man named Poppa. He kept her in cages and made her do tricks for strange people. Finally, Jane escaped and went to see her mother who also lived in the city. That night she squeezed though the window and got on the bed and layed next to her mom Mrs. Tabby. The next morning Sarah Wolf, the owner of Mrs. Tabby, woke up to see a beautiful black cat with wings. She was very nice to Jane. Sarah even left the window open in case if Jane wanted to leave. Jane would sometimes leave and go see Alexander Furby and have long chats and then fly back to the city. Jane Became a free cat.

Jane on Her own is a precious story. It's about a young cat that ventures into the city in search of a friend. It's a very sweet story -- I strongly suggest it to any reader 2nd-5th grades.

This is a charming story. S. D. Schindler's illustrations are fabulous - the cats live and move - and Ursula LeGuin's characterisations are spot on too. Jane, one of the Catwings, gets bored with her quiet life on the farm and decides to have "adventures." Unfortunately she falls in with a guy who, while seeming to love her, keeps her locked up and performing tricks for television cameras.

This story is a wonderful fantasy for cat lovers of all ages. The moral (if you need a little medicine in your sugar) is that if you really love someone, you'll give them their freedom.

The Catwings books are great, so they make fantastic gifts. My 8YO godson agrees!

Ursula K. LeGuin, Jane on Her Own (Orchard, 1999)

And so we come to the fourth, and to date last, book in Ursula K. LeGuin's Catwings series. This one focuses on Jane, the young half-sister to the other catwings, and best friend of Alexander, the wingless cat. Bored and seeking adventure, Jane decides to go back to the city. When she gets there, however, she gets friendly with a human, and soon finds herself in a dilemma.

Again, as with Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, LeGuin has come up with a take that seems more self-contained than the first two books in the series, and as such is stronger. The characters are quite lovable (how can you not like cats with wings, assuming you're not a bird?), the situations are straightforward. Very good for beginning-to-intermediate readers, I should think. *** ½

Jane On Her Own is a book about six cats that all have wings except one. There mother did not have wings. Jane was the youngest out of Thelma, Roger, Harriet, James, and their friend Alexander Furby. Jane got sick of the old farm and traveled to the big city. She met a man named Poppa. He kept her in cages and made her do tricks for strange people. Finally, Jane escaped and went to see her mother who also lived in the city. That night she squeezed though the window and got on the bed and layed next to her mom Mrs. Tabby. The next morning Sarah Wolf, the owner of Mrs. Tabby, woke up to see a beautiful black cat with wings. She was very nice to Jane. Sarah even left the window open in case if Jane wanted to leave. Jane would sometimes leave and go see Alexander Furby and have long chats and then fly back to the city. Jane Became a free cat.

In this book, Jane flies away from Harriet, James, Thelma and Roger and finds a man named Poppa. It is a quick five chapter book. I really liked it. I read it for my second grade reading class.