Product Description

Summer in St. Ives is a good time for the stray cat. Visitors give him titbits to eat, and it is warm on his hill. Then, in autumn the tourists start to leave, and food is more difficult to come by. But, winter is worse: it is a cold, lonely time - full of danger and constant hunger. Appetizing smells from the village drift up the hill, enticing him to risk the notice of the fierce village cats. And comes Christmas, who will remember the cat on the hill? It is sure to be a family favourite throughout the year - and especially, perhaps, at Christmas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #272296 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Review
The magnificent illustrations pulsate with life. - Carousel; A perennial favourite. - Good Book Guide; Masterly - Liz Dubber, School Library Association

From the Back Cover
Summer in Cornwall is a good time for the stray cat on the hill. Visitors share their
picnics, and it is warm in the sun.

As autumn approaches food becomes scarcer. But winter is worse: it is a cold and lonely time. He is too famished to notice the Christmas cheer, but will anyone in the town remember the cat on the hill?

‘Reads aloud well . . . a warmly satisfying story.’ Books for Keeps

‘A perennial favourite.’ Good Book Guide

About the Author
Michael Foreman is one of the most talented and popular creators of children's books today. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and his highly acclaimed books are published all over the world.

Customer Reviews

Crystalline Watercolours, interesting story...
A lovely story with exquisite water colour illustrations of life in the simple town of St Ives, and the life of one small cat who is alone in the world.

Enjoying the summer, the old sailing cat now lives in the curch on the hill. Through Autumn as it gets cooler, the cat goes down to the village and a friendly child gives him fish, from the day's catch. The cat sees a donkey and a horse playing in a field and envies them their friendship, whilst being irritated at the dog which is always racing past, barking.

In Winter he gets increasingly desperate, with no food, and no shelter, and the illustrations show the town lit up with christmas lights and revelry.

Venturing into town he is shunned, chased and eventually scared back off to his hill as the snow falls wistfully down on the door stoops, decorated with holly wreathes and santa slinks behind the fish traps.

Like the good king Wencelaus through the snow arrive the donkey, mule, dog and boy, laden with gifts for the cat, and they set up a little tent which looks like a manger in the middle of the snow, the cat in the boys lap and all the segulls, mice and rabbits circled around. It looks just like a nativity scene, which is quite amusing.

The last page:
"Bells ding-dong across the bay, and the sea turns silver in the moonlight. My friends and I sit warm on our hill between
all the stars of Heaven and Earth."

I liked the cat's ornery perspective & simple direct relating of events & emotions.

The cat uses "damned", which is something to consider for your children.

Deeply impressed with the quality of the watercolour paintings, they're extremely good, and portray a wonderful feeling of all the seasons, and I loved the crabby cat, who has a happy ending.

Kotori 28'Nov, 2004

Lovely moving story to read to little ones
My little girl (age 4) loves cats and we borrowed this book from the library and fell in love with it. Really moving story about a stray cat throughout the seasons in a seaside town. Lovely christmassy ending. Brings tears to my eyes(happy ones). Was a bit shocked at use of word "damned" though. (Cat calls a dog "that damned dog").You could always edit that when reading aloud though!