King o' the Cats [Hardcover]

Aaron Shepard (Author), Kristin Sorra (Illustrator)

Book Description

A church sexton, known for his wild tales, has three weird encounters with magical cats and can't convince Father Allen that they really happened, until the priest's cat shows an intense interest.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5–Peter Black, who "loved to tell wild stories," replaces the unnamed sexton in this expanded spin on Joseph Jacobs's spooky tale. The young man works at the Church of St. Thomas the Believer, where he has several unnerving encounters with a group of cats. Each time, he relates the tales to Father Allen, who is reluctant to believe him. After Peter witnesses a feline funeral, the officiating cat instructs him, "Tell Tom Tildrum… that Tim Toldrum's…dead." When Peter later recounts the events to Father Allen, the priest's pet jumps up upon hearing these words and declares, "Then I'm the King o' the Cats" and runs away. In addition to personalizing the characters, Shepard stretches the events to the standard folktale cycle of three evenings. Less dramatic than the original, this story still builds nicely and creates a fuller sense of the alternate life of the cats. Sorra's single- and double-page oil scenes, dark in tone, have the look of some animated films, with square-faced, flat-figured humans and almost stern-looking cats. The somber, shadowy views befit the nighttime scenario. A seasoned storyteller, Shepard retains the basic scheme and a bit of wording from Jacobs, crafting a smooth narrative that will please listeners, storytellers, and readers. A prefatory note promises a reader's theater script and background information on the story at his very substantial Web site.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. When Father Allen hires Peter as the church sexton, he warns the lad that he must stop telling wild stories. But Peter finds it impossible not to tell Father Allen when he discovers hundreds of cats dressed and behaving like people: crowning their king, hunting with bows and arrows, and honoring their dead with a procession. The book's ending vindicates young Peter while making listeners smile. Based on a tale in Joseph Jacobs' More English Fairy Tales, the story benefits from Shepard's firm grasp on the elements of good storytelling. The artwork features warm, rich colors and unusual angles that give even the setting a sense of dynamic energy. The full- and double-page scenes in Sorra's stylized artwork are beautifully lit by sun, moon, and candles. With these large-scale, dramatic illustrations enriching an entertaining tale, this picture book is a fine choice for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689820828
• ISBN-13: 978-0689820823
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,438,070 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Citizenship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of Cats Rules!!!, October 3, 2004

By 

Mary F. Garrett "Aunt Mary Storyteller" (St. Peters, Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King o' the Cats (Hardcover)

Aunt Mary read _King o' the Cats_ to niece Robin, age 8, who really loves cats. She liked it all, especially the coronation scene. Robin is involved in Renaissance Faire activities and is attuned to the rituals of royalty. Aunt Mary liked the irony of Father Allen gaining a reputation for telling tall tales. Also, the illustrations were lovely, dark and appropriately spooky.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed by Children at the Gaston, Oregon Community Library, October 2, 2004

By 

Marion Hurt (Portland Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: King o' the Cats (Hardcover)

I read "The King O' the Cats" to a group of children ranging in age from kindergarten through 5th grade. After hearing the story, all the children thought this was a good book to read to kids, but that it might be too scary for the younger ones. They all like cat stories and liked how the cats helped prove Peter's "stories" to be true. They thought it had to be something important to get the cats to talk to people, though.
The illustrations lead to discussions on how the pictures were used to bring out the most important parts of the story, such as how the King of the cats stood out from the crowd as he was being crowned and thought it was interesting that the priest looked angry but spoke kindly to Peter.
There was the one child who prefered books with non-talking cats, though.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King O' the Cats is Cool!, September 29, 2004

By 

frogsster "Thrillereader" (Pahrump, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King o' the Cats (Hardcover)

Our class really liked the book King O' the Cats. Kelly enjoyed the crowning of the cats, and all the cats going meow, meow. Mary enjoyed the details, which made her want to read more and more. Cheyenne liked how in the beginning Peter was making up stories, and at the end, the priest does the same things. Marissa feels that the book was "fantastic and funny." She especially liked when Tom jumped up and shouted "Then I'm the king o' the cats!" Diana enjoyed reading about Peter's shortcut. Shannon liked it when the cat hit his head! Alex B. liked the cats on the foxes chasing the dog. Brittany's favorite part was the cats in the church. Alex C. made a text-to-self connection, since he has cats, and he felt bad when his cat died. Daniel H. made a text-to-text connection-it reminded him of The Secret Shortcut. Destin also made a text-to-text connection, with The Boy Who Cried Wolf. (He also feels this book should get a medal!) Efren liked when the cats cried for the dead king cat. Morgan liked the whole book, but especially when the cats were speaking. Preston says, "I love your book, oh yes I do!" Ty liked when Tom went up the fireplace chimney, and he liked the title, too. Michelle wants Aaron Shepard to write a King O' the Cats part 2!