Customer Reviews

Jenny and the Cat Club: A Collection of Favorite Stories about Jenny Linsky (New York Review Children's Collection)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's a time most of us probably don't remember when we make the conceptual leap from looking at a bunch of letters on a page to reading. Jenny did this for me.

My grandmother sent me the first Jenny Linsky books before I was old enough to start school. My parents read them to me--at first. For the rest of his life my Dad said that he, too, adored Jenny Linsky because all he had to do was put me in his lap, open the book, and turn the pages. I did all the rest.

Years ago, before internet use was common, I asked a woman who owned a children's bookstore if she carried the Jenny Linksy books. She condecendingly told me that she never heard of them. No wonder that store went out of business.

Later, when I went online and tried to find the books, all I could find were rare collectors copies.

I'm thrilled to see these reprinted. I owe Jenny for a lifetime of happy reading.

Over a period of days, I read my 7 and 4 year old the stories in this lovely book. We all just loved them - the stories are such a refreshing change from more modern stories. They are old-fashioned, but still relevant and engaging to children. Jenny Linksy is charming, but has her faults. She admirably faces challenges and is willing to admit when she's wrong. My kids kept asking questions about the stories and making comments about Jenny and her friends for days after each reading. They totally looked forward to the next story. Echoing a prior reviewer's comment - Please publish the rest of the stories!

My children (girl-4, boy 6)love Jenny Linsky. Her everyday adventures are so real and make it easy to relate to her. The illustrations are so simple and the characters so diverse. This is my daughter's favorite book (after Jenny's Surprise Birthday Party, which we have checked out of my son's school library 4 times this year). My son (a dino, shark, nature kid) hated for me to put it down between chapters; it is so fascinating and the language and setting are so unlike many books written today. I am so glad we uncovered this wonderful, old treasure. I would encourage all parents to read a Jenny Linsky story to their children.

After years of struggling with my son to interest him in reading, I came upon this wonderful book that features the one thing that I thought might make him read...A cute little black cat and her adventures. This book now has the distinction of being the first book my 9 yr old son has read by himself from cover to cover. Thank you Jenny! Hopefully the publisher will re-release the other Jenny stories as well.

My four and a half year old loves cats so I couldn't wait to give her this book for Christmas. Truly, over even her biggest present, I think this is her favorite Christmas gift of 2005. Every night since she received it we have been reading Jenny's stories. When we finished it the first time, we started over again!

These stories are sweet, full of adventure and fun, while reinforcing core values such as friendship, courage and selflessness. My daughter and I highly recommend this collection for all cat-loving kids! (We've even ordered a copy for her school library.)

...I can speak with authority on this one. Esther Averill's Jenny stories were some of the first books I can remember checking out of the neighborhood library; what a joy to find them back in print! I, too, had only vague recollections of "a cat that danced the hornpipe," but seeing the jolly yellow cover of the new edition opened my memory like Proust's madeleine. I hadn't realized that these odd and charming little stories were set in the Greenwich Village I grew up to roam so happily in my college years, though, or I'd have kept more of an eye out for the Cat Club.

I'm eager to get my hands on a copy and share it with my future kids.

I love Jenny Linsky. I love her gentle nature, her kindness, her shyness. I loved her from the moment I opened the book and read the first paragraphs to my (then) 5 year old daughter. I loved her as I made red pom-poms to tie onto a red scarf so my daughter could dress up as Jenny for Halloween. But five years later, she's my second favorite Linsky. My most favorite is my three year old daughter, Zoe Linsky, whom her big sister lovingly named after the nicest person she could think of, a little black cat named Jenny.

My daughter checked this book out of her school library,(in the 1970's) and we started reading it together. She had to return the book before we were finished with it. When she tried to check it out again, it was lost and unavailable. Needless to say, she was sad that we didn't finish reading it. After, nearly 30 yrs of looking (off & on) for this title, I finally found it here.
It's the cutest story about "Jenny" a little cat, that will warm your and your childs heart. It's a well written story that will pull the reader in, to go along with "Jenny" on her many adventures.
I bought this book to give to my (30+yr. old) daughter, after all of these years, but not before, I read it myself. It's a warm little book that's easy and enjoyable, to read

I was thrilled when I saw that this collection of Jenny Linsky stories was being published again. I delighted in reading these stories to my children when they were little. The stories are a wonderful break from the cynical world in which we live. They always teach a lesson, but in such a way that they are never preachy. The illustrations are absolutely lovely and adorable. I am saving my edition to read to my grandchildren. Then I can create a second generation of memories that include these sweet stories.

I was a full-time teacher for 25 years. I have been substituting in the elementary schools in two states. The book, Jenny and the Cat Club followed me in my semi-retirement from IL to MI. Children in both states, in first and second grade classrooms enjoy my reading this book, which I have in falling apart paperback.