The Alley Cat's Meow (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jon Goodell (Illustrator) "It was a full moon, jazz tune swingin' kind of night, when Red hopped on the A train and it rumbled out of sight..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-This book has the look and feel of a feline version of a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie of the 1940s. One enchanted evening, a dapper cat named Red hops on the A train, an obvious nod to Duke Ellington and the era of swing music, to make the scene at a "boogie-woogie juke joint called the Alley Cat's Meow." The rhyming verse chronicles the momentous meeting of Red and Ginger. He asks her to dance, and the rest, as they say-. Their partnership sealed with a kiss, they set out to wow the world with their artistic virtuosity. On the final page, the two are pictured dancing happily in the moonlight. Sophisticated painterly images of the high-stepping couple tap dancing and jitterbugging their way through nightclubs and on stage make for an attractive and at times humorous presentation. This affectionate look back at a golden era of jazz music and an arguably more elegant time seems somewhat out of sync with a picture-book audience, and the emphasis on romance may elicit predictable groans from youngsters.
Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-K. A pair of jazz cats romance each other around the world in this handsome, nostalgic picture book. Red, a dapper tabby, meets Ginger, a "jazzy, snazzy" feline, at the Alley Cat's Meow nightclub. The cats boogie woogie across the floor, fall in love, and go on to dance together on stages across the world and even "on the silver screen." There's little story here, and the text, written in brief rhyming couplets, often feels forced. What's best are the large acrylic paintings that show the cats' wild costumes, gooey expressions of love, and, best of all, the cats' flying movement across the dance floor. This isn't a necessary purchase, but the colorful images and the story's romance may appeal to some young ones. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152019804
• ISBN-13: 978-0152019808
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,059,808 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, March 31, 2003

By	"violander" (Burton, MI United States) - See all my reviews

Here is a book with rich language, written in a syncopated, jazzy style. My 3 year old granddaughter loves it, and so do I. This book is a joy to read. What other book describes someone as looking luminous, or being la di da di da? I've fallen in love, and you will, too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wondeful!, May 5, 2009

By	Nana (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most delightful books I've ever read to my granddaughter - and I love it as well. The illustrations are so imaginative and colorful. The rhyming text is almost a song as you read it aloud. I rate it up there with "Mr. Maxwell's Mouse, another truly imaginative cat story.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's about cats, July 29, 2004

By	Dimas A. Long (Australia) - See all my reviews

The story is really a thinly disguised nod to a cliche of the 30s and 40s. The two dancing cats, Red and Ginger, could be fRED Astaire and GINGER Rogers respectively. My son of course, asked, what an 'A' train was and he interpolated an 'h' into the Catanooga Choo-choo since he knew the song, both conveyances of which feature in the story. And he loved it, because despite its coded references to cultural archaeology, it really is a children's story, like the one about Jack and Jill going up the hill, or better yet, like the tale of the owl and the pussycat sailing to sea.

Here are little boy cats in striped shirts, posed kisses between Red and Ginger, a waiter bringing a drink of milk in champagne glass and a fantasy dance tour of exotic locales. And both cats live happily ever after. Not a stain crosses the pages of childhood. And that's good enough for me.