Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Synopsis
A storm, a shipwreck,
an ongoing ocean,
then finally, finally
a deserted isle. . . .
Safety — but wait!
The fifteen swimmers
braving the waves
are, after all . . . kitties.
They are not into
cooperating
until, until
on this desert isle
they must.
Here,
from the creators
of the witty Old Cricket,
comes a wily, wise
saga of sogginess,
a feline fantasy
about drying off (elegantly),
shaping up (grumpily),
getting along (at last),
and loving it.
Children's Literature
Fifteen cats are washed ashore on an island: "Fifteen cats by tempest blown--Seven babes and eight full grown." Organization is essential for survival, since no rescue ships appear. But as they try to build a boat, "...fur begins to fly." Finally, however, they manage to plan and work together. Soon they realize that they are very happy there together and decide to stay. The simple story is made engrossing by the rhythmic verses rich in assonance, alliteration, and description of the cats and their individual personalities. Periodically there is a variation of the song-like refrain that is repeated throughout to the happy ending: "Fifteen cats by tempest blown/ Fifteen cats have made a home." Goembel's acrylics and ink illustrations offer a most attractive mixed cast of naturalistic cats, including striped, long-haired, spotted, and even a twin set of Siamese. The double-page scenes are large enough for all the dramatic--even melodramatic--action, as when the beach becomes littered by half a dozen fur-flying cat fights. Details such as palm trees and piles of flotsam set the naturalistic adventures against the anthropomorphic, almost mythic behavior of the feisty felines. Cat lovers in particular will want to join the final scene of joyous dancing.