Metro Cat - a children's book

Metro Cat by Marsha Diane Arnold

Illustrator: Jack E. Davis

2001

I normally don't review children's books because although I read a lot of children's books to, well to children - I don't want to rate a children's books, or put a value on a childrens' book other than to say whether I enjoyed it a lot or not. I find children's books to be more subjective than Adult books, because where I, myself, prefer books that are lively or quirky, or have a lot of laughs, other people may prefer books that are quiet and soothing to their youngsters. Me? I like to SHAKE THINGS UP!

I'm posting about Metro Cat because I signed up for a cat book challenge - to read 12 books that feature cats as main characters or side characters. So far, this year I have read 5 (Now 6) books that have cats in them, and most of them have been secondary characters. Now for book no. 6 of my cat book challenge reading:

Metro Cat features a cat named Sophie Le Beque as a cat magazine cover model.

A Parisian cat model.

Sophie Le Beque has been pampered so much, that she doesn't have to make any decisions.

She doesn't know HOW to make decisions.

She wears diamonds.

She is fed fresh trout every morning in bed.

She has her own catnip garden to play in.

She rides in a limousine to work.

Ahhh, but one day they (Sophie and her handler) are running late. She gets put in her carrying cage and the limousine without breakfast. There is an incident - a corner taken to fast and the car door opens, sending Sophie in her cage, bouncing down the metro steps to the metro station. She meows and meows, but of course no one understands her. Her cage door has popped open, so she leaves her cage.

Of course, at first she is terrified, and of course very hungry. She has remember, never had to do anything for her food, or make any decisions.

At All.

All the rushing people, whom she sees in terms of shoes, are stepping on her tail, bumping into her and in general, scaring her. But hunger drives her to try to find food tidbits that people are dropping in their mad rush along the metro station.

baguettes

croissoints

apple tart

chocolate crepe (ummm, yummy!)

What follows is the story -in forty pages- of how Sophie finds her inner strength and is able to learn how to avoid dangers and take care of herself.

Eventually, Sophie begins to brave the steps of the metro and finds her self on the streets of Paris.

Where there is music

musicians

more people tossing coins to the musicians

She begins to wander around and eventually meets an elderly man who she notices, has an empty hat. He is playing a fiddle, but cannot dance to it. She dances and someone throws a coin to the man.

The ending of the book is very satisfying.
The man and Sophie become partners, and in the end of the book Sophie's new friend has help to earn coins and Sophie has a place to live - not missing at all the life she had before.

I've read this book a number of times to my granddaughter. She loves it for the character of Sophie (she loves cats), the diamonds (loves sparklies) and the music and dancing (loves dancing and music). It's been fun to watch what she gets out of the book, from the first time I read it to her (at 2 years of age), to the last time I read it (last night, at three years of age). As she matures, she notices different things about the story. First it was the cat and the jewelry. Recently it's been the fish bones, worry about Sophie getting hurt and pleasure that Sophie lives with her new friend now.

This is a good book to have in a children's library - whether a home library or an official library. There's enough in the story to keep the grown-up reading it to the child interested and I think will keep my granddaughter entertained as she grows old enough to read it on her own.

Book Reading Challenges:
2010 Cat Book Challenge