In this heart-warming cat rescue tale, eleven-year-old Taylor co-ordinates the moving of a feral cat colony when their junkyard home is demolished for the building of a new condominium. Taylor and his mother have recently moved to inner-city Toronto from a small northern community in order that his mother can improve her banking career. Taylor finds himself in a multi-racial grade six classroom where his firm but kind former-football-player teacher helps the students to celebrate their heritages and to love reading. Taylor develops a friendship with Simon whose family is from Korea. When the boys take a shortcut through a local junkyard Simon introduces Taylor to the colony of feral cats that live there. As the cats are attacked by some high school boys, Mr. Singh the security guard intervenes. Mr. Singh, a lawyer in his former country India, becomes the boys’ genial friend, allowing Taylor to feed the cats and to become involved in their community.
Taylor watches a huge raccoon interact with the cats. He names some of the fifty or so cats and, fascinated by their behaviour, spends all of his spare time observing and learning about the colony. Taylor brings his school friends to the junkyard to meet the cats and to feed them. When Taylor brings his mother to meet the cats, they surprise a group of people from the Feral Cat Association of Toronto, led by the vet Dr. Reynolds, who are feeding the cats food containing antibiotics and inoculations. Taylor later calls on Dr. Reynolds to help him capture the wounded cat Hunter and treat him at the vet clinic.
One day, Mr. Singh and Taylor watch in horror as bulldozers begin to clear the junkyard in preparation for the building of a condominium. Taylor convinces Dr. Reynolds to help him to capture the cats and to move them to the Leslie Street Spit, a piece of land jutting out into the Toronto harbour. In two frantic days, with the help of Mr. Singh, Taylor’s mother and friends, and Dr. Reynolds’ colleagues in the Feral Cat Association, the group manages to capture and move all the cats except Hunter and Miss Mittens, whom they can’t find. Rocky the raccoon leads them to Hunter’s den, where Miss Mittens has given birth to another litter of kittens. Taylor talks to Hunter and says goodbye, convinced that he will never see the cat family again. But Hunter brings out the kittens one by one, leaving them in a cage for the humans to take. Miss Mittens joins her kittens and Hunter is chased into another cage by the vicious tom cat leader King whom the group is happy to leave behind. At the spit, when Hunter brings one of the kittens to Taylor, Dr. Reynolds sees that it has a deformed foot and would never survive in the wild, so Taylor takes it home with him.
Taylor is a striking, well-rounded character. He displays all the energy and eagerness of a typical young boy who loves animals, especially cats. He is thoughtful and kind with his mother, whom he helps by doing chores at home without prompting. He is a little fearful and apprehensive about moving to the city, hesitant because of stereotypes he has seen on TV. However, he reaches out to his classmates, remaining open-minded and friendly in spite of his ignorance about others’ cultures. Like many children of his age he is compassionate with animals and eager to assure their welfare. His determination to save the cats strikes a chord with his mother, the vet and the other children, and sweeps them all along to the completion of the project.
Secondary characters contribute well to the development of the story, remaining as believable and complex as Taylor. Mr. Singh in particular will resonate with readers because he is so thoughtful, generous and kind, not to mention amusing as he takes up the cats’ plight in earnest. Taylor’s mother and teacher are both reasonable, attentive people, focused on the welfare and development of the children in the novel. Dr. Reynolds’ dedication to animals and to the feral cat colony will inspire readers who see themselves as future veterinarians. His heroics and his sense of humour will charm all readers. Simon is a sharp, intelligent boy who embraces his family’s high expectations. He is amused by Taylor’s ignorance of city life but wants him as a friend.
The dialogue in this novel, both internal and actual is up-to-date and realistic, moving the action along well. Only occasionally is the dialogue a little stiff when characters tell each other facts that could have arisen naturally from action. The intended readership will accept the naming of the cats by each student according to their heritage and the breed of the cats. Readers will enjoy the friendly teasing between Simon and Taylor, and the genuine friendship Taylor extends to the other students who respond with excited, friendly questions about the cat colony. The only nasty people in this novel are the high school students who attack the cats and the boys. Readers will feel comfortable with this quiet acceptance of others, as the action and excitement arise from the danger to the cat colony.
The setting of inner-city Toronto provides an exceptional background as Taylor peers down alleys, surveys the piles of junked cars and sweats over whether or not the ancient elevator in his apartment will stop correctly at his floor. Both the way the cat colony hides in the junkyard and the way they behave with each other are fascinating. Walters is careful not to sugar-coat the hard life of feral cats. However, the behaviour of the fat raccoon and his connection with Hunter the cat, although it may be charming to young readers, remains somewhat unrealistic. It also seems unlikely that Hunter would give his damaged kitten to Taylor rather than destroy it. Taylor struggles unsuccessfully not to anthropomorphize the cats, finding himself talking to them and attributing human emotions to their actions. All readers and cat lovers will sympathize with him in this.
Running through this novel is the theme of the necessity of getting along with others who are not of your own race and culture. Although Walters makes this crystal clear by having the characters all from different cultures and countries, and leading the reader through a class lesson on the United Nations, it is the way the children work together to save the cats that really sends the theme home. Kindness to animals, a perpetually popular theme with the intended readership, is also central to the novel and will initially attract and keep the attention and sympathy of readers. The concept of the catch and release neutering of feral cats is not addressed.
This novel was written with the help of students from the Toronto District School Board who read it as Walters wrote it, offering their suggestions so that he could edit and rewrite it. With its compelling cover featuring Hunter posed on the hood of a derelict car, this story will no doubt prove very popular with elementary school readers across Canada and the U.S.
Orca | 240 pages | $9.95 | paper | ISBN #978-1554699537
‘Catboy’ by Eric Walters
Book Reviews
In this heart-warming cat rescue tale, eleven-year-old Taylor co-ordinates the moving of a feral cat colony when their junkyard home is demolished for the building of a new condominium. Taylor and his mother have recently moved to inner-city Toronto from a small northern community in order that his mother can improve her banking career. Taylor finds himself in a multi-racial grade six classroom where his firm but kind former-football-player teacher helps the students to celebrate their heritages and to love reading. Taylor develops a friendship with Simon whose family is from Korea. When the boys take a shortcut through a local junkyard Simon introduces Taylor to the colony of feral cats that live there. As the cats are attacked by some high school boys, Mr. Singh the security guard intervenes. Mr. Singh, a lawyer in his former country India, becomes the boys’ genial friend, allowing Taylor to feed the cats and to become involved in their community.
Taylor watches a huge raccoon interact with the cats. He names some of the fifty or so cats and, fascinated by their behaviour, spends all of his spare time observing and learning about the colony. Taylor brings his school friends to the junkyard to meet the cats and to feed them. When Taylor brings his mother to meet the cats, they surprise a group of people from the Feral Cat Association of Toronto, led by the vet Dr. Reynolds, who are feeding the cats food containing antibiotics and inoculations. Taylor later calls on Dr. Reynolds to help him capture the wounded cat Hunter and treat him at the vet clinic.
One day, Mr. Singh and Taylor watch in horror as bulldozers begin to clear the junkyard in preparation for the building of a condominium. Taylor convinces Dr. Reynolds to help him to capture the cats and to move them to the Leslie Street Spit, a piece of land jutting out into the Toronto harbour. In two frantic days, with the help of Mr. Singh, Taylor’s mother and friends, and Dr. Reynolds’ colleagues in the Feral Cat Association, the group manages to capture and move all the cats except Hunter and Miss Mittens, whom they can’t find. Rocky the raccoon leads them to Hunter’s den, where Miss Mittens has given birth to another litter of kittens. Taylor talks to Hunter and says goodbye, convinced that he will never see the cat family again. But Hunter brings out the kittens one by one, leaving them in a cage for the humans to take. Miss Mittens joins her kittens and Hunter is chased into another cage by the vicious tom cat leader King whom the group is happy to leave behind. At the spit, when Hunter brings one of the kittens to Taylor, Dr. Reynolds sees that it has a deformed foot and would never survive in the wild, so Taylor takes it home with him.
Taylor is a striking, well-rounded character. He displays all the energy and eagerness of a typical young boy who loves animals, especially cats. He is thoughtful and kind with his mother, whom he helps by doing chores at home without prompting. He is a little fearful and apprehensive about moving to the city, hesitant because of stereotypes he has seen on TV. However, he reaches out to his classmates, remaining open-minded and friendly in spite of his ignorance about others’ cultures. Like many children of his age he is compassionate with animals and eager to assure their welfare. His determination to save the cats strikes a chord with his mother, the vet and the other children, and sweeps them all along to the completion of the project.
Secondary characters contribute well to the development of the story, remaining as believable and complex as Taylor. Mr. Singh in particular will resonate with readers because he is so thoughtful, generous and kind, not to mention amusing as he takes up the cats’ plight in earnest. Taylor’s mother and teacher are both reasonable, attentive people, focused on the welfare and development of the children in the novel. Dr. Reynolds’ dedication to animals and to the feral cat colony will inspire readers who see themselves as future veterinarians. His heroics and his sense of humour will charm all readers. Simon is a sharp, intelligent boy who embraces his family’s high expectations. He is amused by Taylor’s ignorance of city life but wants him as a friend.
The dialogue in this novel, both internal and actual is up-to-date and realistic, moving the action along well. Only occasionally is the dialogue a little stiff when characters tell each other facts that could have arisen naturally from action. The intended readership will accept the naming of the cats by each student according to their heritage and the breed of the cats. Readers will enjoy the friendly teasing between Simon and Taylor, and the genuine friendship Taylor extends to the other students who respond with excited, friendly questions about the cat colony. The only nasty people in this novel are the high school students who attack the cats and the boys. Readers will feel comfortable with this quiet acceptance of others, as the action and excitement arise from the danger to the cat colony.
The setting of inner-city Toronto provides an exceptional background as Taylor peers down alleys, surveys the piles of junked cars and sweats over whether or not the ancient elevator in his apartment will stop correctly at his floor. Both the way the cat colony hides in the junkyard and the way they behave with each other are fascinating. Walters is careful not to sugar-coat the hard life of feral cats. However, the behaviour of the fat raccoon and his connection with Hunter the cat, although it may be charming to young readers, remains somewhat unrealistic. It also seems unlikely that Hunter would give his damaged kitten to Taylor rather than destroy it. Taylor struggles unsuccessfully not to anthropomorphize the cats, finding himself talking to them and attributing human emotions to their actions. All readers and cat lovers will sympathize with him in this.
Running through this novel is the theme of the necessity of getting along with others who are not of your own race and culture. Although Walters makes this crystal clear by having the characters all from different cultures and countries, and leading the reader through a class lesson on the United Nations, it is the way the children work together to save the cats that really sends the theme home. Kindness to animals, a perpetually popular theme with the intended readership, is also central to the novel and will initially attract and keep the attention and sympathy of readers. The concept of the catch and release neutering of feral cats is not addressed.
This novel was written with the help of students from the Toronto District School Board who read it as Walters wrote it, offering their suggestions so that he could edit and rewrite it. With its compelling cover featuring Hunter posed on the hood of a derelict car, this story will no doubt prove very popular with elementary school readers across Canada and the U.S.
Orca | 240 pages | $9.95 | paper | ISBN #978-1554699537