Short Story Sunday [9]

Made of Cats: A Love Story
by Judith Tarr

Review

This story was so much fun.  It's about an alien race that comes to Earth and as a show of good will they make cats as cute as possible.  So funny.  I love the tone of the story, I love what they did to the cats, and I love love LOVE the resolution.  Can we have that?  Please?

I give this story a 10/10 for the sheer fun of it.

I first hear this story on Escape Pod.  It was narrated by Amanda Ching who did a fantastic job with it.  The full text is also there if you prefer to read rather than listen.

Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars

by Constance Lombardo

Summary From GoodReads

In this hilarious illustrated adventure meet Mr. Puffball, a medium-size feline with a big dream! With amazing humor that appeals to both kids and adults as well as funny illustrations throughout the story, Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars is perfect for dreamers, movie buffs, and fans of Timmy Failure and Stick Dog.

He's a hero for today. Or possibly tomorrow. He's a cat. He's awesome. And . . . wait for it . . . he's going to Hollywood to become a famous movie star! Follow Mr. Puffball on his trip cross-country. (Look at all the postcards to Mom!) See him stumble upon Hobowood! (Not as glamorous as Hollywood, but full of beans.) Watch him land at last in Hollywood, where he meets a cast of thousands (or at least half a dozen) and catapults himself into the next best thing to being a famous movie star: working as a stunt cat to his movie star hero, El Gato!

Thoughts on the Book

This is another ARC I had grabbed at BEA.  I had walked by the table and my friend showed me a different book she had grabbed from the table so I ran back to get that one and saw Mr. Puffball next to it and just couldn't resist grabbing a copy, so glad I did!

My Review

This story is about a kitten, Mr. Puffball, who dreams of being an actor.  At the age of 14 months (he's no longer a kitten and old enough to make his own decisions!) he leaves his New Jersey home travel to Hollywood.  The trip is detailed in postcards that he sends back to his mother.  Then once he arrives in Hollywood it's all about him trying to make it in the business and meeting his heroes.

This book was really cute, and I absolutely loved the illustrations.  The story itself was funny, but adding in the silly illustrations just made it that much better.  I loved the postcards that were sent to his mother, the address cracked me up, Little Yellow House, NJ, USA, it's amazing that his mother received the postcards.  How Mr. Puffball wrote her name changed with each postcard too, some were just My Mom, others were more along the lines of Mom of Mr. Puffball.

I also loved all the pop culture references turned cat, like Hairy Purrer, Catsablanca, The Sound of Meowsic, and Tabby Gaga to name a few. 

Despite all of the silliness of the book the story was told beautifully, the boring parts were cut from being in prose and a picture or two (or several) outlined what had happened.  Lessons in form of a game board, cross country travel in form of a few postcards, the course of filming detailed in brief  descriptions and illustrations of stunts.

The only thing I wasn't completely enamored with was how Mr. Puffball never realized how truly horrible El Gato was to him, his friends saw it, but Mr. Puffball never did, even after he realized that El Gato wasn't as nice and wonderful as he first thought.

The morals of the book were also really good, especially for the age group it's aimed for.  Mean people have a reason why they're mean, give them a chance before completely ruling them off.  Heroes don't always live up to the pedestal we put them on, but that doesn't mean that they're not worthy of being our hero.  Just because something is difficult, or seems impossible, or you fail after a brief success don't give up, keep trying and you just may make it.   

All in all I give this book a 9/10.  This book was great, everything you could want out of a kids book, humor, good lessons, and a lovable cast.  

The Wild Road

by Gabriel King

Summary from GoodReads

Once in every age, there comes a special cat. His mission is not to rule, but to guide the rulers to their destiny, to uphold the balance of the natural world, and to discover the leonine heart and spirit that is the legacy of all cats everywhere. Now, in the grand storytelling style of "Watership Down" and "Tailchaser's Song," comes an epic tale of adventure and danger, of heroism against insurmountable odds, and of love and comradeship among extraordinary animals who must brave The Wild Road.

Secure in a world of privilege and comfort, the kitten Tag is happy as a pampered house pet--until the dreams come. Dreams that pour into his safe, snug world from the wise old cat Majicou: hazy images of travel along the magical highways of the animals, of a mission, and of a terrible responsibility that will fall on young Tag. Armed with the cryptic message that he must bring the King and Queen of cats to Tintagel before the spring equinox, Tag ventures outside. 

But had ancient Majicou somehow misjudged? Tag barely knows his own backyard and is scarcely equipped for a quest out into the wide world! But ready or not, Tag is catapulted into the unknown to face danger and win allies in the wily urban fox Loves a Dustbin, and the far-seeing magpie One for Sorrow. Along the way, others will join their quest: Cy, the strange little tabby; Sealink, the globe-trotting cat with an eye for a handsome tom; and Mousebreath, wise in the ways of the world. Together, this band of frightened yet courageous animals will brave the wild road to seek the King and Queen. 

But finding the royal pair is only half the challenge, as an evil human known only as the Alchemist doggedly pursues the Queen for his own ghastly ends. For the Queen, a descendant of the legendary line of Golden Cats, holds the key to an ancient prophecy that foretells enormous power for those who control this rare and extraordinary breed. 

And if the Alchemist achieves his goal, the world can never be safe again.
A stunning literary achievement, "The Wild Road" is a sweeping feat of the imagination, an amazing mystical highway to an unseen place known only to cats and their chosen, trusted companions.

Thoughts on the Book

I’m dedicating this post to my cat, Cypher Isis (June 6, 2002 – May 20, 2015).  I got Cy when I was a sophomore in high school and she was the best, fluffiest, nicest, most beautiful cat you could ever meet.  She would have turned 13 in two weeks, but sadly didn’t have it in her to continue fighting against whatever was making her sick (the vet could not definitively diagnose her).

When I met Cy at 4 weeks old (I had to wait another couple weeks so she’d be weaned properly to bring her home) I named her after one of my favorite characters from this book – Cy, Cy for Cypher!  I was seriously debating between Cy and Sealink, since she was a dead-ringer for Sealink, especially as she got older - a sassy calico Maine Coon.  Sadly my parents vetoed Sealink and allowed for Cypher (we had many arguments over the spelling - I won).  Fortunately there was no argument over the middle name, one of my favorite characters from The Golden Cat, The Wild Road’s sequel.

My Review

This book is about a cat, Tag, who gets lured outside by a magpie and where he gets lost and needs to learn to survive on his own.  He eventually learns that he's part of something far bigger than just himself, and he's mentored by a mysterious cat, Majicou.  He picks up some odd friends along the way, a fox, a magpie, as well as lots of other fellow cats.  It's a coming of age story for Tag, he's forced to grow up quickly in order to fulfill his destiny, save the king and queen and therefore the world.

I love this book.  The characters are all fantastic, how could you not love the cats?  Tag, Sealink, Cy, Ragnar Gustaffson Coeur de Lion (or to his chagrin Rags for short), Pertelot Fitzwilliam, Mousebreath, Stilton, Majicou.  All were amazingly developed, and somehow remained extremely catlike.  Tag’s your typical cat, young, not too crazy, learning things as he went, Sealink was the more sedate older cat who loved good food and people, Cy your typical crazy cat off chasing shadows or, really, anything that catches her interest, Ragnar and Pertelot are your aloof show cats, and Mousebreath your typical mouser.  Even the non-cat characters were awesome, Loves a Dustbin just might be my favorite in the entire series, and One for Sorrow was pretty awesome too.  And the Alchemist, he was such an awesome villain.  When reading you really truly hate him, and the more you find out about him the more awful he is.

The fantasy elements in the book are also really cool, and could very well exist in our world – we’d never know!  The Wild Road itself is something that only animals can see; it’s something house cats stare at through the windows.  It’s the reason why dogs bark at nothing.  It’s why you see an animal running by out of the corner of your eye, but when you look nothing is there.

The story itself is wonderful and engrossing with all sorts of twists and turns and unexpected phenomena. 

I give this book an 11/10, it’s so fantastically, awesomely, wonderfully, magnificent.  It’s one of those stories that stays with you for a very, very long time.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves epic stories and/or cats.