BookPage Children's Top Pick, February 2016
Patches the calico cat is on a mission to find a special place of her own. A golden leaf pirouettes by the window, teasing her to follow. Filled with longing, she springs at the screen and chases the leaf into the wide, wide world. She’s never been on an adventure before, but one glance at the blue-and-gold sky tells her that thousands of special places must await her.
When Patches encounters Gus—the meanest, fiercest dog in the neighborhood—she stands right up to him, admiring his water bowl and supply of kibble, before moving on. But she’s soon starving and alone, so she seeks shelter beneath a postbox and wakes to a mouse scurrying across her whiskers. Hungry as she is, she considers eating the mouseling but converses with him instead. When the mouse politely asks Patches not to eat him, she honors his request and, with some help from a small red squirrel and the moon, decides that Gus’ doghouse will be “her special place.”
In the night, a fierce stomachache has Patches crying out for help, and Gus answers the call. Patches learns why finding her special place was so important—and why making new friends is more important still.
Young readers will treasure Little Cat’s Luck, a companion book to Little Dog, Lost by renowned Newbery Honor-winning author Marion Dane Bauer. Her engaging poetic style, paired with Jennifer Bell’s whimsical illustrations, makes for a poignant tale of a cat on the run.
Billie B. Little is the Founding Director of Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, a hands-on museum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
This article was originally published in the February 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
