A Cat Named Swan

"Then he was alone." With this abrupt opening sentence, Hobbie (Hansel & Gretel) launches readers and her hero--a solitary, homeless kitten whose family has vanished--on an extraordinary trajectory. After barely surviving life on the streets, the kitten is taken to a shelter and adopted by a family who name him Swan. Everything changes. The once-scruffy Swan turns sleek. He has the run of the house and garden (one particularly memorable image is a close-up of his green eyes, mesmerized by butterflies). He sleeps wherever he wants--a sense of privilege familiar to any cat owner. Loving voices call him Swannie and Swansie, and his habits are affectionately observed ("Aren't those paws clean?" muses one of his owners. "They must be clean by now"). "After many days had passed," Hobbie writes, "he knew that the days would continue to come and go in the same way." With a remarkable combination of restraint and narrative power, Hobbie turns an animal adoption story into something much more: a meditation on the quotidian bliss of unconditional love. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 2--A stray kitten survives living on the streets until he is adopted. After he emerges from the cardboard box in which he was born to discover his mother and siblings gone, the little feline manages to find food and shelter even amid the "constant danger[s]" he encounters from harsh weather, menacing dogs, and bike-riding strangers. His feral days end, though, when an animal control officer rescues him from a tree and takes him to a shelter. Life there is much less frightening, and the kitten endures its boring routine until he is gleefully claimed by a loving family. They name him Swan, and through their constant care, he gradually learns that their house and yard are his as well and that "the people [are] his people and he [is] theirs." Hobbie's lovely watercolor illustrations are initially executed in a predominantly gray palette and alternate between large framed pictures and vignettes surrounded by plenty of white space. Cat's-eye views depict everyday objects such as bottles, garbage cans, and bicycle wheels looming over tiny Swan. The background then becomes bright blue as eager hands swoop up the astonished kitty and take him home. Brilliant yellow provides a backdrop for interior and outdoor family scenes that effectively convey the delightful change in Swan's fortunes. Whether looking out from the cover, huddling beneath a bench, cavorting with family members, or up close chasing a butterfly, Swan will endear himself to young readers. VERDICT A fine catalyst for discussing the merits of pet adoption and a sweet and lovely animal story that's perfect for one-on-one and small group sharing.--Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA