Mousehole Cat [Paperback]

Antonia Barber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 1993

"The Mousehole Cat" was the winner of the British Book Award for the Illustrated Children's Book of the Year and the British Design Production Award (Children's Books). It was also shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Children's Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The quaint Cornish fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced "Mowzel") is the setting for this captivating story inspired by an old legend. A fierce winter storm sets in just before Christmas, and "the cats and their people grow very hungry" because the Great Storm-Cat won't let any fishing boats out of the harbor. Mowzer, a wise old cat, goes along to protect her "pet"--Tom, a fisherman--when he decides to brave the elements to get food for the villagers. The clever Mowzer's sirenlike singing placates the Storm-Cat into letting Tom cast his nets, and her purring soothes the creature into letting them return home safely, where they find that the whole village has turned out with gleaming lanterns to welcome them. Brimming with character--and fetching characters--each of Bayley's glowing paintings is a gem, and her marine-themed borders are a crowning touch. Young readers will enjoy Barber's exemplary prose--by turns funny, dramatic and touching--for its cat's-eye perspectives and comforting resolution. To the ever-increasing gallery of memorable feline characters, Mousehole 's gifted creators have added two indelible portraits: canny, endearing Mowzer and the mythic Storm-Cat, shown looming out of the waves in moods ranging from fierce to gently playful. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

In lilting and alliterative language, Barber tells the story of Mowzer the cat who saves a Cornish fishing village from starvation at Christmas. The Great Storm-Cat rages outside the snug little harbor and no boats can leave, so Mowzer agrees to accompany her own pet, the human fisherman old Tom, on a fishing venture "for he was only a man. . . and men were like mice in the paws of the Great Storm-Cat." The story is cleverly told from the cat's point of view, with the oceanic Storm-Cat personified both in the text and in the blue-green swirls of Bayley's luminous paintings, which capture nuance, detail, motion, and emotion with energy and rhythm. Narrow bars decorated with sea motifs neatly frame the text in this elegant offering.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd; New edition edition (June 3, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0744523532
• ISBN-13: 978-0744523539
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that transcends age, June 15, 1999

By 

Susan Byers (Willits, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mousehole Cat (Paperback)

This is one of those books that I can never read out loud to my children without weeping. There is something so touching about the devotion of Mowser, the cat, to Tom (her human); of Tom to the hungry children of his village; of his village to the old fisherman who risks his life to try to save them from starving. The depth of the pathos is probably most apparent to the adults reading this book; my kids always know I am going to cry, but I don't think they quite understand the sweetness of my tears. They appreciate the excitement of the story, and Mowser's pluck and skill. Bayley's illustrations are stunningly detailed and really elevate the story like a vividly remembered dream. This is a perfect book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most perfect children's books I know, June 1, 2000

By 

Mike Christie (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mousehole Cat (Paperback)

This is an extraordinary book. Antonia Barber has produced a superb story, based on the legend of the Cornish village of Mousehole. Tom is an old fisherman who lives with Mowzer, his cat, who is also aging gracefully. Their lives--organized around fish, firesides, milk, and scratching of ears--fill the first few pages, and then the Great Storm-Cat arrives, howling around the harbor and bottling up the fishing fleet. Food in the village starts to run low. Finally, the day before Christmas, Tom and Mowzer go out to fish together in the teeth of the storm, so that the children of the village should not be hungry on Christmas Day.

The text is powerful--remarkably so for a children's book. But Nicola Bayley's paintings are, if possible, even more astonishing. There is a gorgeous picture of the Great Storm-Cat and Mowzer at sea; fine, characterful pictures of Tom, Mowzer and the village of Mousehole; and among other treasures, one picture that always moves me to tears. Another reviewer said the book made them weep: I know the page they were talking about. It's where Tom and Mowzer sail back to the village, to discover that the villagers have realized they are gone, and are waiting for them.

Enough. It's a beautiful picture. Buy the book, even if you don't have kids, though you'll get far more pleasure from reading this to a child. The language is a little complex for a child under five, but you can simplify as you read. And you'll read it again and again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, stirring, my kids loved it!, April 23, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mousehole Cat (Paperback)

When my children were young, this was one of the bedtime stories they loved best. It's particularly good for cat lovers! The illustrations are gorgeous, and the story moves through suspense to a beautiful resolution -- a feast at the end of a storm-tossed fishing trip.