The Three-legged Cat - Hardcover

The award-winning author of The Changeover and The Tricksters scores another triumph with this mirthful escapade. As he dozes curled up in his habitual ball, a three-legged cat named Tom dreams of traveling to faraway lands. But to his owner, Mrs. Gimble, a widow who prides herself on her respectability, wanderlust is a dangerous thing. It's bad enough that Tom follows her "all hobbledy-bobbledy" around the house--no need for him to take after her brother Danny, a no-goodnik drifter. Mahy's prose is droll and dextrous, filled with winning wordplay; indeed, Danny's "revolting, molting Russian hat" plays a pivotal role in the plot. When Danny comes to visit, cat and hat are accidentally switched--to the eventual great satisfaction of all parties. Allen's ( The Great White Man-Eating Shark ) large-scale, cartoony illustrations serve up a deliciously bizarre, out-of-kilter world peopled by flat, pop-eyed characters. Especially canny are the images of the stubble-faced Danny doffing his offending topper to reveal a bald pate, and later donning cat instead of hat as he sets out to see the world. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-The widow Daisy Gimble is glad that she has a gimpy cat, as his three-leggedness prevents him from wandering, and she approves of staying put. Tom, however, wants nothing more than to see the wide world. Respectable Daisy can't help but dread the visits of her drifter brother, Danny, who always wears a "revolting, molting Russian hat" on top of his bald head. One day he comes for tea, and when he leaves, he mistakes her sleeping cat for his hat. Tom finally gets to see the world, Danny finds that a cat is warmer and better company than a hat, and Daisy is satisfied as can be with her inanimate pet. Readers will laugh at the woman's proper and peevish opinion of the way Tom comes "running, all hobbledy-bobbledy" every time she opens the fridge, and will relish the inevitable conclusion. Allen's large, humorous, full-color illustrations, with their clever compositions and expressive, crescent-mouthed faces, pick up the jokes in the story perfectly. Once again Mahy reveals her empathy for slightly loopy, fun-loving underdogs.
Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.