ANNOTATION

Whittington, a feline descendant of Dick Whittington's famous cat of English folklore, appears at a rundown barnyard plagued by rats and restores harmony while telling his ancestor's story.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for -- two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady. When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady¿¿¿s a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it.

Bernie¿¿¿s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can¿¿¿t really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington¿¿¿s cat¿¿¿the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune. This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Valerie O. Patterson

In this mingling of animal fantasy and an old English folktale, a stray cat named Whittington arrives at a barn and asks Lady, the duck in charge, if he can have a place in the barn to live along with the various other stray animals that live there. The barn is owned by Bernie, who does not have the heart to turn animals away, and he cares for the animals along with his orphaned grandchildren Abby, who is ten, and Ben, who is eight. When winter snows force the animals to stay in the barn, Whittington begins to tell the tale of English merchant, Dick Whittington and his famous cat, from which Whittington is descended. Born into plague and poverty during the Middle Ages, Dick Whittington runs away to London where he finds adventure and the cat that eventually will make him a rich tradesman. The author skillfully intertwines the modern barnyard world, a subplot involving Ben's reading troubles, and the rags-to-riches folktale. The illustrator's pen and ink drawings convey both the warmth of modern barnyard life and the timelessness of the folktale. 2005, Random House, Ages 9 to 12.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-This superior novel interweaves animal fantasy and family story with a retelling of the English folktale "Dick Whittington and His Cat." A battered tomcat named Whittington arrives one late-fall day at a New England barn, where he gradually befriends the equally ragtag group of animals already adopted by the barn's taciturn but soft-hearted owner, Bernie. When the year's first big snowstorm traps the bored animals in the barn, Whittington begins telling the story of his namesake, Dick Whittington, to an audience that grows to include Bernie's parentless grandchildren. The feline continues the story as winter grinds on, and the children and animals together absorb Dick's tale of good fortune, which he earned through trust in the advice of his dear friend, a remarkable cat, and his own hard work and struggles. The tale parallels that of Ben, Bernie's grandson, who learns to read once he trusts the advice of his friends and takes extra classes to help him overcome his dyslexia. Graceful prose, engaging human and animal characters, and a deft interweaving of three story lines make this book worthy of comparison to the work of Dick King-Smith and E. B. White. Teachers and librarians looking for a classroom choice to follow Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003) take note: Whittington reads aloud beautifully, and the extended happy ending will leave everyone smiling in delight.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Into Bernie's barn, filled with castoff animals he has either actively collected or hasn't the heart to refuse, wanders Whittington the cat, an ugly bruiser of a tom who seeks community. Abby and Ben, Bernie's grandchildren, also seek refuge in the barn; they live with him because their mother is dead and they don't know where their father is. Over the course of seasons, from winter till fall, Whittington tells the story of his namesake, Dick Whittington, and his famous cat. Entwined with Whittington's storytelling is Ben's struggle to learn to read, and the commitment of both humans and animals to his success. The magic that allows Abby and Ben and the animals to talk to each other is understated and assumed, unremarkable. What is remarkable is the compelling quality of both characterization and story. Even as the youthful exploits of the long-dead Lord Mayor of London bring together friend and foe in the barn, the finely drawn characters and the small-scale but no less monumental struggle of Ben to read keep the pages turning. It's a lovely paean to the power of story and the words that carry it along. (Fiction. 8-12)