HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Blue Cat of Castle Town
Author: Catherine Cate Coblentz
Illustrator: Janice Holland
Publisher: Dover Publications, republished 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0486815275 Paperback
ISBN-10: 0486815277 Paperback
Website(s): http://www.doverpublications.com (publisher)
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Recommended reading level: Ages 10-12 and up
Rating: ***** 5 stars
(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)
Category: historical fantasy
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
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Coblentz, Catherine Cate. The Blue Cat of Castle Town (Published originally in 1949 by Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT; republished in 2017 by Dover Publications, Garden City, NY). In the 19th-century Vermont hamlet of Castle Town, a little blue kitten is born and falls under the spell of the song of the river, which declares that riches and power will fade, and ventures off to share the song with the community, where a dark spell is brewing an obsession with gold and possessions. The kitten encounters many inhabitants of Castletown in his quest, including pewterer Ebenezer Southmayd, weaver John Gilroy, wealthy merchant Arunah Hyde, and carpenter Thomas Royal Dake, but he seems doomed to fail until he crosses the path of a lonely, ugly girl named Zeruah Guernsey.
Can anyone hear the song which the Blue Cat sings? Will anyone learn and sing it with him? Or does everyone finally succumb to the dark spell? This 1950 Newbery Honor winner is charmingly illustrated and presents an interesting message. The song of the river—the ancient song of creation, as old as the world itself—hearkens back to a time when there were beauty and peace and contentment in people’s hearts. Inspired by the real-life artistry of nineteenth-century Vermont crafters, the book emphasizes that the beauty of handmade crafts endures. While I was reading it, I felt that there was something allegorical about it. One reviewer called it “a parable.” Kirkus Reviews said, “An imaginative, poetic, and often amusing story, written with great skill.”
