Catswalk: The Growing of a Girl - Softcover

Catswalk is an unusual fantasy set in ancient Egypt. A gray cat, last of the Great Cats, is said to be Mother of a human Girl. This concept is difficult to accept when the cat not only talks but takes care of Girl, sweeps their hut, brews tea, fries eggs and serves them on clay pots. Great Cat also weeds the garden and spins goat's fleece into yam to make dresses for her daughter. just in case we forget that Mother is really a cat, she also grooms herself with tongue and paw. Once the reader accepts this incredible relationship, the story unfolds in an engrossing manner. Ramose, a wandering merchant, visits their hut and leaves his map there. Mother and Girl go after him to return it. On their Catswalk along the Euphrates River they meet Boy and a puppy they name Fetcher. Most astounding of all, the map reveals in advance what will happen at each point of their adventure, although the words do not become clear until after these events occur. Tension grows as Great Cat remains outside the City Gates and Girl and Boy become separated at a bazaar. Girl is captured and held in the temple of dreams. When she escapes she learns that Boy has become a prisoner of the Black Lord. Girl confronts the evil ruler and, in a contest of riddles with him, wins Boy's freedom. Reunited with Fetcher and Mother they find a new hut. Girl is now known as Beloved and Boy as Hunter. In the space of one short chapter they marry and have three children. Great Cat goes on her own last Catswalk, never to appear again. This 13-chapter book is beautifully produced. Nine striking, full-color illustrations by the author, as well as black-and-white chapter headings, add interest to the tale. Readers who enjoy Lloyd Alexander's books may also like this one. Suggested for ages 1014. -- From Independent Publisher

Grade 4-6-- Here is an extended comic-book quest story--cum allegorical novelette--that offers little insight or entertainment. The difficulty lies in buying into these stock characters and staying with them throughout the overextended, contrived story. The female protagonist, named Girl, and her adoptive mother, a talking cat called Mother, set off on a Catswalk--a destinationless journey "to see what we may see." They meet a boy, called Boy, who joins them. When they come to a city, Boy is imprisoned by its ruler, who is referred to as His Blackness; Girl is waylaid by a priest--the setting is ancient Mesopotamia--and enters a druglike dream realm. She escapes, although not by any convincing means, and saves Boy by being cleverer at riddles than His Blackness. Although Boy and Girl have grown up and discovered their names (Hunter and Beloved, respectfully) by the end of the story, they do not seem to have been changed by their adventure, and some incidents seem pointless. Although several prescribed elements of the genre are present, the tale is derivative and cliched; combined with the Disneyesque illustrations (that also hint of Marvel Comics influence), the characters remain lifeless, and readers detached.
- Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.