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    Little Cat's Luck
    Little Cat's Luck
    Little Cat's Luck
    Ebook203 pages1 hour

    Little Cat's Luck

    By Marion Dane Bauer and Jennifer A. Bell

    2.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    From Newbery Honoree Marion Dane Bauer comes an “endearing tale…told with warmth and humor” (School Library Journal) that’s a companion to the “wholly satisfying” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) Little Dog, Lost.

    When an indoor calico cat named Patches spots a golden autumn leaf fluttering past her window, she can’t help but venture outside to chase it. But soon, Patches feels something tugging at her, telling her to find a special place—one she won’t know until she sees it. Why must she go on this search? She doesn’t know yet.

    Along the way, Patches finds herself in dire circumstances, but with the help of the other neighborhood animals, she faces off against the scariest dog in town and continues on her journey to her special place.

    Beautifully told in verse and accompanied by adorable illustrations by Jennifer A. Bell, this heartwarming novel from Newberry Honor­–winner, Marion Dane Bauer, is a timeless, touching, and fulfilling story about finding your way home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Release dateFeb 9, 2016
    ISBN9781481424905
    Little Cat's Luck
    Author

    Marion Dane Bauer

    Marion Dane Bauer has written more than one hundred children's books, including picture books, easy readers, early chapter books, and novels. She won a Newbery Honor for On My Honor, a middle grade coming-of-age story. She lives in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. www.mariondanebauer.com.

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    Reviews for Little Cat's Luck

    2.5/5

    3 ratings1 review

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    • 4/5
      This delightful book tells the story of Patches the cat who longs for a special place. When the screen pops off the window, she finds a special place right in the home of the meanest dog in town, Gus. She's lost and doesn't know how to get home. Needless to say Patches gives birth to a litter of kittens right in Gus' doghouse. A bond between dog, cat, and kittens is made. There's more to the story, but I'll let you read it for yourself. The book is written as though it is poetry, but it's really prose disguised as poetry. The short lines should make it easier for more advanced younger readers to enjoy. It shows a 4.7 reading level with a 760L lexile. I suspect many third graders could enjoy it and perhaps even some advanced second graders. Many of the lines are shaped to go along with the text. Illustrations are sparse. It would make a good read aloud book. Marion Dane Bauer continues to be one of the better writers of children's books.

    Book preview

    Little Cat's Luck - Marion Dane Bauer

    Little cat,

    searching.

    Little calico cat

    searching for a place,

    a special place

    to be her very own.

    What she would do with a special place

    once she found it,

    she wasn’t sure.

    Perhaps she would just curl up for a good nap.

    But if she didn’t know

    what her special place was for,

    she knew exactly

    what it would be like.

    Hidden away,

    snug,

    dark,

    quiet . . .

    very, very quiet.

    The little cat,

    whose name was Patches,

    by the way,

    had checked

    every possible spot

    in her

    entire

    house,

    looking for her special place.

    Corners,

    closets,

    cupboards.

    Even the dusty space

    behind the refrigerator

    and the floor beneath the kitchen table

    next to the chipped blue bowl

    that held her kibble . . .

    and occasionally a touch of tuna.

    Nothing

    was quite right.

    Not the pillow

    where she slept

    next to her girl’s sweet breathing.

    Too open.

    Not the basement

    where her man pounded nails

    and whirled saws.

    Too noisy.

    Not the studio

    where her woman

    slathered paint.

    Too smelly!

    And so,

    on the day our story begins,

    Patches sat just inside the window

    at the front of her house,

    gazing out

    at the    wide    wide    world

    and longing.

    She licked a paw

    and ran it over her ginger ear.

    She washed her black ear next.

    But just as she was starting on

    her pretty white face,

    something caught her eye.

    Something golden.

    Something

    f

    a

    l

    l

    i

    n

    g.

    The golden leaf

    wafted

    this way

    and that

    as though it meant

    to go anywhere

    but

    down.

    "Come catch me!

    I dare you!"

    it seemed to say.

    The white tip of Patches’s patchy tail

    twitched

    and her eyes—

    as golden as the leaf—

    blazed.

    "I want . . .

    I want . . .

    I want . . . ,"

    she chirred.

    And her wanting grew more fierce

    with each saying of it.

    So fierce that,

    without thinking what she was doing,

    she         sprang

    at the window screen

    that stood between her

    and

    the

    falling

    leaf

    and all the rest of the wide world.

    To her astonishment

    the screen gave way.

    And Patches found herself standing

    among the red berry bushes

    that grew

    around the base

    of the house.

    All this happened so fast

    that the leaf

    still floated in the air.

    It twirled,

    dipped,

    drifted toward the grass,

    and then . . .

    just as Patches crouched,

    ready to leap again,

    another breeze tossed the leaf high.

    She pounced and

    missed.

    The chase was on!

    Across the lawn,

    along the sidewalk,

    down

    the

    middle

    of

    the

    street,

    Patches followed.

    (Lucky there were no cars coming.)

    She tiptoed

    through more grass—

    ew-w-w! prickly!—

    then crossed a second street.

    Still,

    the

    leaf

    called.

    (Or perhaps

    by this time

    she followed a different leaf,

    still gold,

    still calling.)

    Just when Patches

    got close enough

    to pounce,

    another gust came along,

    and the golden leaf

    up

    and

    sailed up

    and disappeared

    of

    peak          a

    the                     red

    over                             roof.

    The little cat slowed,

    stopped,

    sat.

    She licked her nose.

    (In case you didn’t know,

    that’s what cats do

    when they’re upset.)

    She wrapped her tail

    around her haunches

    and peered

    over one shoulder.

    Then the other.

    But she could no longer

    see the leaf

    anywhere.

    For that matter,

    she could no longer

    see her house

    anywhere

    either.

    She was alone

    under the blue bowl of the sky.

    Now,

    you might think a small cat,

    a small house cat,

    who has been petted and cuddled

    and fed from a chipped blue bowl

    her entire life,

    would be frightened

    to find herself alone

    out in the BIG world.

    But Patches hadn’t forgotten

    the important search she was on.

    She looked around and thought,

    Look at all this space!

    There must be hundreds

    of special places out here.

    Thousands.

    Each one more hidden away,

    snug,

    dark,

    quiet,

    than the one before.

    What luck

    that the golden leaf had called her!

    What luck

    that the screen had released her!

    What luck

    that the whole blue-and-gold world

    lay stretched out before her!

    What excellent luck!

    Some cats

    are born to adventure.

    They prowl their towns

    night and day,

    exploring shrubs,

    alleys,

    the Dumpster

    behind the butcher’s shop.

    They catch a mouse or two

    and scatter

    flock

    a                of

    sparrows.

    Then they have

    a howling fight

    and,

    pleased with themselves—

    and perhaps a bit bloody—

    they pad on home

    to ask

    politely

    for a bit of cream.

    As you already know,

    Patches was not

    one of those cats.

    The closest

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