Newman, Leslea. Ketzel, The Cat Who Composed.

Newman, Leslea.  Ketzel, The Cat Who Composed.  Candlewick Press  2015  np  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-6555-5  pre K-elem  Picture book  E

      Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed is based on the true story of Moshe Cotel’s pet cat.  Cotel, a composer, jotted down the notes his cat “played” on a piano and submitted the results to a music contest for short compositions.  The composition won, but Cotel was  not surprised.  He claimed that everything he heard, from bird song to construction work, created music in his ears.  The brief story is as charming as the picture book’s very expressive artwork.  Illustrator Amy June Bates created pictures that are the perfect complement to the story, demonstrating a gift for capturing the expressions of both man and feline.  Young listeners will demand to hear this tale repeated many times.

Summary: Share the story of Ketzel, a cat who composed a prize-winning musical composition.
           

Cats-Fiction, Musical composition-Fiction             --Hilary Welliver

Grinti, Mike and Rachel. Claws.

Grinti, Mike and Rachel.  Claws.    Scholastic Press  249p  $16.99      978-0-545-43313-6 2012  elm/ms      VG-BN       Fantasy    

Emma braves the mystical, magical world to save her sister Helena from the fairies.  She is helped by her pride of cats that she acquired when she gained her “Pride-Heart”.   Animal lovers and fantasy readers will love this novel. 

The Vu family has depleted its reserves trying to find Helena, who has disappeared.  They have lost their home and moved into a trailer park inhabited by Crags.  Their new home is also near a magical forest.  Upon moving into her new bedroom, Emma finds a cat called Jack. It turns out Jack can talk to humans and wants to help her find her sister.  As the story progresses, Jack gives Emma the Proud-Heart, which makes her the queen of a pride of cats.  Cats of all sizes and varieties are loyal to her and gain magical powers to change into bigger type of cats from her.

This story is the fast-paced adventure of a young girl who is willing to face the dangers of the unknown to save a family member.  She is joined by a scheming cat named Jack and such pride members as Fat Leon, Cricket, and Chloe (a Harpy).  Emma and her followers face many mystical challenges that test their mettle.  How they solve their problems makes this book a great read for fantasy lovers.                 

Cats–Fiction, Magic–Fiction                                --Linda McNeil