This Newbery-Honor winning tale introduces Whittington, a roughneck Tom who arrives one day at a barn full of rescued animals and asks for a place there. He spins for the animals—as well as for Ben and Abby, the kids whose grandfather does the rescuing—a yarn about his ancestor, the nameless cat who brought Dick Whittington to the heights of wealth and power in 16th-century England. This is an unforgettable tale about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling, and how learning to read saves one little boy.
Whittington
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 4-6–This superior novel interweaves animal fantasy and family story with a retelling of the English folktale Dick Whittington and His Cat. A battered tomcat named Whittington arrives one late-fall day at a New England barn, where he gradually befriends the equally ragtag group of animals already adopted by the barn's taciturn but soft-hearted owner, Bernie. When the year's first big snowstorm traps the bored animals in the barn, Whittington begins telling the story of his namesake, Dick Whittington, to an audience that grows to include Bernie's parentless grandchildren. The feline continues the story as winter grinds on, and the children and animals together absorb Dick's tale of good fortune, which he earned through trust in the advice of his dear friend, a remarkable cat, and his own hard work and struggles. The tale parallels that of Ben, Bernie's grandson, who learns to read once he trusts the advice of his friends and takes extra classes to help him overcome his dyslexia. Graceful prose, engaging human and animal characters, and a deft interweaving of three story lines make this book worthy of comparison to the work of Dick King-Smith and E. B. White. Teachers and librarians looking for a classroom choice to follow Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003) take note: Whittington reads aloud beautifully, and the extended happy ending will leave everyone smiling in delight.–Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. "So what do you want, Mr. Whittington?" "A place to live," the cat replies to Lady, the take-charge duck asking the questions, as Whittington attempts to sell his skills as a ratter and all-around useful fellow. Once he does and becomes part of the community of outcast animals who look after one another in softhearted Bernie's old barn, readers will settle in with him for a tale of charming animal bravura. Whittington entertains the group daily with the tale of his ancestor, Dick Whittington's cat, and relates the story of Whittington's fourteenth-century escapades as a rags-to-riches British merchant and far-traveling adventurer. The story works beautifully, both as historical fiction about medieval street life and commerce and as a witty, engaging tale of barnyard camaraderie and survival. A third strand, about Bernie's grandchildren, particularly Ben and his troubles and eventual success with learning to read, seems forced and didactic in what is otherwise a very strong story. Final illustrations not available. Anne O'Malley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"Whittington" exemplifies everything I love about the Newbery Awards. Every year the winners of the Newbery are announced during the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting. Sometimes the Award winner is undeserving. Sometimes the Honor Winners are exemplary. And sometimes there is one book that is so completely random and out of the blue that it baffles everyone who hears its name. This year, "Whittington" was that book (though "Show Way" probably got a few gasps for the category in which it won). It sort of came out of left field and while a perfectly nice book and a good tale of one boy's battle with dyslexia, I'm disinclined to say it was one of the best books of the year. A perfectly harmless barnyard tale. Just don't get overly excited about it.
All right my children, who here amongst you can tell me the tale of Dick Whittington? Anyone? Anybody? Well that's not surprising. Ole Dick just doesn't get the attention he once did. Even Fairy Tale Theater never got around to filming the Whittington fable. In this book, however, Dick is introduced to a whole new generation of children via the voice and stylings of a singular cat. On a rural farm, a worse-for-the-wear tom makes the acquaintance of a barnyard full of animals. A good ratter as ever there was, the cat has named himself Whittington. When questioned about his name he explains that he is a direct descendant of Dick Whittington's cat, and has given himself a moniker appropriately. Now on this farm are two children, Abby and Ben. Abby does well enough in school but Ben struggles with words and numbers. It is clear that he has a reading impediment and a temper to boot. As Ben, Abby, and the barn's inhabitants sit and listen to Whittington slowly tell the tale of his ancestor's master, Ben draws courage and resolve from the story and decides that if Dick could overcome countless hardships to win in the end, so too can he.
The book draws some nice parallels between Dick and his cat, and Ben and Whittington. Where Dick was led to fame and fortune through the advice of his pet, Ben is led towards learning how to read through Whittington's encouragement and tales. Along the way Armstrong chooses to sprinkle the book with small stories about the other animals' adventures on the farm. The grandfather of the children, Bernie, has a kind heart and anyone with a sick or injured animal will place that creature in Bernie's care. As a result, the farm is a mishmash of animals caring for one another's young and interacting (once Whittington brings the rats in line) in relative harmony. Armstrong has made a kind of E.B. White decision to allow the children to understand the speech of the animals around them. It seems fairly clear that the adults cannot talk to the barn critters, but the children listen to them for advice or stories constantly. It makes the book an alternative selection if you've a child who's a fan of "Charlotte's Web" and wants something similar.
I don't think I'm the only one who gets Alan Armstrong mixed up with Alan Ahlberg. Both write for the same age group and the illustrations in Whittington that are done by S.D. Schindler bear more than a passing resemblance to Ahlberg's dark side of felines, "The Improbable Cat". If you've a kid who loves them kitties and would like lots of books about them, definitely be a little twisted and recommend both books together. Now the illustrations in this book are quite nice. They're little pen-and-ink affairs with Schindler drawing some truly excellent cats. He never quite gets their eyes right but when it comes to kitties stretching, showing their tummies, or stalking off, no one captures the essence of the feline better. He also stays true to the text. When the book says that Bernie looked like Abraham Lincoln a little, the face of Bernie that Schindler chose to include does have a kind of craggy Old Abe quality to it.
The story slows down sometimes when getting into the nitty-gritty details of Dick's life in trading, but kids who are dedicated enough will skim over these if they're bored, or real them through thoroughly if they're not. I appreciated the Endnote that Armstrong chose to place in the back of the book. In that section Armstrong places Dick Whittington within a historical context and explains exactly which elements were added to the fable later and which ones were not. He even cites his resources for stories of Whittington, info on the lives of rats, fables, medieval plants, barnyard animals, medieval children, Marco Polo, sugar, and dyslexia. I'm a big fan of citing sources (done to brilliance in 2004's, "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko) and Armstrong made me very happy with this choice.
So it's a sweet little tale. And, I might add, appropriate for younger children who have to read a Newbery Award or Honor winner published in the last few years. But it's not extraordinary and doesn't break any new ground in particular. It's just a pleasant tale with some nice elements and a cheerful story. Sweet but not the kind of thing that will stick with children for very long.
All right my children, who here amongst you can tell me the tale of Dick Whittington? Anyone? Anybody? Well that's not surprising. Ole Dick just doesn't get the attention he once did. Even Fairy Tale Theater never got around to filming the Whittington fable. In this book, however, Dick is introduced to a whole new generation of children via the voice and stylings of a singular cat. On a rural farm, a worse-for-the-wear tom makes the acquaintance of a barnyard full of animals. A good ratter as ever there was, the cat has named himself Whittington. When questioned about his name he explains that he is a direct descendant of Dick Whittington's cat, and has given himself a moniker appropriately. Now on this farm are two children, Abby and Ben. Abby does well enough in school but Ben struggles with words and numbers. It is clear that he has a reading impediment and a temper to boot. As Ben, Abby, and the barn's inhabitants sit and listen to Whittington slowly tell the tale of his ancestor's master, Ben draws courage and resolve from the story and decides that if Dick could overcome countless hardships to win in the end, so too can he.
The book draws some nice parallels between Dick and his cat, and Ben and Whittington. Where Dick was led to fame and fortune through the advice of his pet, Ben is led towards learning how to read through Whittington's encouragement and tales. Along the way Armstrong chooses to sprinkle the book with small stories about the other animals' adventures on the farm. The grandfather of the children, Bernie, has a kind heart and anyone with a sick or injured animal will place that creature in Bernie's care. As a result, the farm is a mishmash of animals caring for one another's young and interacting (once Whittington brings the rats in line) in relative harmony. Armstrong has made a kind of E.B. White decision to allow the children to understand the speech of the animals around them. It seems fairly clear that the adults cannot talk to the barn critters, but the children listen to them for advice or stories constantly. It makes the book an alternative selection if you've a child who's a fan of "Charlotte's Web" and wants something similar.
I don't think I'm the only one who gets Alan Armstrong mixed up with Alan Ahlberg. Both write for the same age group and the illustrations in Whittington that are done by S.D. Schindler bear more than a passing resemblance to Ahlberg's dark side of felines, "The Improbable Cat". If you've a kid who loves them kitties and would like lots of books about them, definitely be a little twisted and recommend both books together. Now the illustrations in this book are quite nice. They're little pen-and-ink affairs with Schindler drawing some truly excellent cats. He never quite gets their eyes right but when it comes to kitties stretching, showing their tummies, or stalking off, no one captures the essence of the feline better. He also stays true to the text. When the book says that Bernie looked like Abraham Lincoln a little, the face of Bernie that Schindler chose to include does have a kind of craggy Old Abe quality to it.
The story slows down sometimes when getting into the nitty-gritty details of Dick's life in trading, but kids who are dedicated enough will skim over these if they're bored, or real them through thoroughly if they're not. I appreciated the Endnote that Armstrong chose to place in the back of the book. In that section Armstrong places Dick Whittington within a historical context and explains exactly which elements were added to the fable later and which ones were not. He even cites his resources for stories of Whittington, info on the lives of rats, fables, medieval plants, barnyard animals, medieval children, Marco Polo, sugar, and dyslexia. I'm a big fan of citing sources (done to brilliance in 2004's, "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko) and Armstrong made me very happy with this choice.
So it's a sweet little tale. And, I might add, appropriate for younger children who have to read a Newbery Award or Honor winner published in the last few years. But it's not extraordinary and doesn't break any new ground in particular. It's just a pleasant tale with some nice elements and a cheerful story. Sweet but not the kind of thing that will stick with children for very long.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Oh my friends, I always wanted a family. You are my family...Just as I protect you, so you protect me. I am grateful"
July 30, 2006
By HenderHouse
Format:Hardcover
This Newbery honor book is the story of families of origin and families of creation. It is also a tale depicting the power of love and of story. Framed within the present in which Ben and Abby, brother and sister, spend time in their grandfather's barn listening to a tale told by the barn cat, Whittington, who is a descendant of the fabled Dick Whittington's cat. The novel "Whittington" moves between a re-telling of the medieval Whittington tale to two present day tales in which Ben is struggling to read and the animals are struggling for primacy in the barn.
"Whittington" offers adventures and excitement in the tales of Dick's travel as a peddler, as well as in the battle of the animals in the barn. The story also offers emotional insights and pathos in the tale of Ben working through his problem with dyslexia and the recovery of Lady, the duck who is head of the animals in the barn, after an attack.
This would be an enjoyable family or classroom read-aloud for 4th and 5th graders, as well as a rewarding book for kids who like animal tales and/or fables.
"Whittington" offers adventures and excitement in the tales of Dick's travel as a peddler, as well as in the battle of the animals in the barn. The story also offers emotional insights and pathos in the tale of Ben working through his problem with dyslexia and the recovery of Lady, the duck who is head of the animals in the barn, after an attack.
This would be an enjoyable family or classroom read-aloud for 4th and 5th graders, as well as a rewarding book for kids who like animal tales and/or fables.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Whittington by Alan Armstrong exemplifies everything that's wrong with the Newbery awards - it's a cute book about a cat, not much more. Don't get me wrong, I did like the story, but there's as much wrong with the story as there is right. It does, however, have all the ingredients of an award winner and stuff much older readers than the intended audience can get nostalgic over.
Whittington is the story of a cat who comes to live in a barnyard full of down-and-out animals with Ben and Abby, a brother and sister who spend their time listening to a tale told by the cat. Ben suffers from dyslexia, which is embarrassing to him. Ben's struggles with dyslexia are mixed with Whittington's story. This is an interesting approach.
However, there are several things wrong with the story. First, the story often reads more like a history and science lesson, with some of the exposition delivered as if from a text book. Second, it's hard to care about the characters as they are shallow and for the most part one dimensional. At times, Ben's struggles seem a footnote or after thought to make the book itself more interesting. As a father of a child with dyslexia, I know it is a serious problem, but it has become an overused plot device in many children's books.
Overall, this one's okay, but I think comparisions to E.B. White are out of line. This is not E.B. White or anything close.
Whittington is the story of a cat who comes to live in a barnyard full of down-and-out animals with Ben and Abby, a brother and sister who spend their time listening to a tale told by the cat. Ben suffers from dyslexia, which is embarrassing to him. Ben's struggles with dyslexia are mixed with Whittington's story. This is an interesting approach.
However, there are several things wrong with the story. First, the story often reads more like a history and science lesson, with some of the exposition delivered as if from a text book. Second, it's hard to care about the characters as they are shallow and for the most part one dimensional. At times, Ben's struggles seem a footnote or after thought to make the book itself more interesting. As a father of a child with dyslexia, I know it is a serious problem, but it has become an overused plot device in many children's books.
Overall, this one's okay, but I think comparisions to E.B. White are out of line. This is not E.B. White or anything close.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
An easy, lazy day read.
Whittington isn't a long or complicated book, it's a quick read and it is very simple. The plot is split between Whittington the cat living in his barn and Whittington the person,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mirrani
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book for anyone.
I loved this book and would recommend it to people who are patient. I'd do this because, although the book is a little slow moving, it unfolds into a classic story of a trading... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Natalie Yao
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent story; excellent reading
We borrowed this from the library a couple of times before buying it as a gift for a friend. My husband, my children (ages 6-10) and I all LOVE it and listen to parts of it over... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Esther
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Classic. But Good.
I loved the premise of Whittington and was excited to read the book. It's really about three stories lumped into one. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful variation of a great legend.
The story of Dick Whittington, as fictional and legendary as it might, has always been one of my favorites tales and I can't believe I never knew there was a Newbery honor... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Emily J. Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whittington
Whittington is about a cat who finds refuge in a barn with a duck named, Lady. Lady helps Whittington learn to live a civilized life and in doing so, Whittington helps Ben, a boy,... Read more
Published on January 23, 2011 by Backstroke Tango 667
5.0 out of 5 stars
loved it
this book holds me in a cradle of warmth. i feel close to the characters, like I am tagging along.
Published on January 2, 2011
4.0 out of 5 stars
a lovely read
I loved this book. It was fun and entertaining and the characters, especially the animal characters were distinct. It did remind me of E.B. White in its warmth and realism.
Published on April 7, 2009 by Jayne R.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Waste Your Money
There have only been two books that I literally wanted to burn or throw of a bridge. Either works, just as long as it is GONE. Read more
Published on March 14, 2009 by M. Wright
2.0 out of 5 stars
An Award Winner?
I have read 7 chapters of this book so far, and I absolutely cannot understand how it won an award for anything. Read more
Published on January 7, 2009 by claire bright
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