Available:*
Library | Collection | Collection | Call Number | Copy | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Auberry Branch Library (Fresno Co.) | Searching... Unknown | American Indian Collection | H | Children's shelf | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Visalia Library (Tulare Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Picture Books | E HARJO JOY | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Some cats are good luck. You pet them and good things happen. Woogie is one of those cats. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat's good luck run out?
The first children's book from an acclaimed poet whose honors include the American Book Award and the William Carlos Williams Award
Celebrates the special relationship between a young girl and her cat *A modern Native American story from a member of the Muskogee-Creek tribe
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-A young girl tells how Woogie, "a stripedy cat with tickling whiskers and green electric eyes," brings good fortune to her family. The feline's luck, however, might be running out, for she has already used up eight of her nine lives, surviving dangerous encounters with a car motor, a clothes dryer, and a large dog, as well as other mishaps. Now, the cat has disappeared and everyone is worried. After several days, she returns home, minus part of an ear but otherwise shipshape, proving that she "is definitely a real good luck cat," having exceeded her expected life span. Harjo's text presents some striking images while still maintaining a believably childlike tone. The realistic acrylic paintings beautifully convey both action scenes (Woogie falling from a tree) and quiet moments (the hopeful girl placing her missing pet's bowl and toys on the back step). Lee has a knack for capturing the cat's agility and suppleness. Details woven into the story and pictures provide a glimpse of the protagonist's Native American heritage. A moving tale for anyone who has ever lost and found a beloved companion.-Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Native American poet and literary critic Harjo makes her children's book debut with a simple but beautifully executed tale of a "good luck cat": "You pet [her] and good things happen." Woogie, the cat in question, has need of some luckÄas the unnamed girl who narrates explains, Woogie has quickly used up eight of her nine lives, surviving an encounter with a large dog, a tumble in the clothes dryer, a fall from a tree, etc. Then, apparently down to her last life, Woogie disappears. The girl searches everywhere and finally puts a dish of food and some cat toys on the stoop, asking her cat to return. The next morning, Woogie has reappeared, missing half an ear but seemingly content. Harjo combines a childlike voice with a command of detail and imagery ("When I pet her she purrs as if she has a drum near her heart"), and the passing characterization of the narrator as Native American adds interest. Lee's (Amistad Rising) spare, sharply focused, acrylic art provides realistic action views of the risk-taking Woogie, showing familiarity with the way cats move. Given its fresh narrative voice and winning animal heroine, this is likely to have a long shelf lifeÄperhaps even nine. Ages 3-7. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A Native American girl describes the close calls that claim her cat's nine lives. When Woogie disappears, the narrator fears that her cat's luck has finally run out, but after a few days Woogie returns relatively unharmed, leading Aunt Sally to declare that Woogie's a real good luck cat. The thin plot, which consists of Woogie's calamities, results in a rather cheerless story, but the realistic acrylic illustrations are attractive. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Poet Harjo's first children's book is a highdrama tale of a cat with more than nine lives. The narrator, an adolescent Native American girl, has a cat named Woogie. Woogie is all soft fur and electricgreen eyes, and she confers a bit of good luck on all those who give her a stroking. She is also capable of her share of mischief and accidents and close calls, eight of which the narrator tells in the story, each caught in the direst moment by Lee in expressive, highly polished illustrations that project the burnished colors of late autumn. The incidents are both comical and slightly scary: Woogie falls asleep under the hood of the car by the warm engine and then is rudely awakened, or falls out of a tree and lands on her head rather than her feet, or gets chased by her cousin's dog. But eight lives are now spent and when Woogie goes missing, the girl is badly worried. Woogie does return, minus half an ear, so she must be a good luck cat indeed to have returned at all. Anyone who has loved a cat will find plenty to identify with here, and those who haven't had the pleasure will get a sense of what they are missing in terms of affection and missed heartbeats. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.