The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint, Charles Vess
My rating: 4/5 cats
“…it might seem like a terrible thing to be trapped in a kitten’s body, but there are worse fates”
s you can see in the comments below the review, [name redacted] very politely asked me to read this book, so i did.
‘ve never read anything else by de lint, and even though this is technically part of his sprawling newford series, my understanding of how that series rolls is that it’s not necessary to read them all, or read them all in order; like the brilliant donald harington’s stay more “series” they are only connected by location and tone.
eel free to jump in and correct me, internet fact-checkers.
his is a cute little story about the rambunctious orphan lillian kindred—the red-headed tomboy who lives on the edge of the tanglewood forest with her aunt. she spends her days running barefoot through the woods looking for fairies, putting out milk for the many feral cats who live in the forest, as well as some treats for the apple tree man—the oldest apple tree in the orchard. she is a friend to all animals, and is half-feral herself
She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she was a bit like a cat herself, wandering in the woods, chasing after squirrels and rabbits as fast as her skinny legs could take her when the fancy struck, climbing trees like a possum, able to doze in the sun at a moment’s notice. And sometimes with no notice at all.
hich is what grown-ups call “foreshadowing” because one day, while she is catnapping under a tree, tuckered out from chasing a deer, a poisonous snake bites her. the cats of the forest gather around, distressed, because lillian has always been kind to them. they can’t save her from dying, but there’s one thing they can do. they can “…change her into something that isn’t dying.”
nd even though the father of cats does not like it when they meddle with magic, there is no other option, so they turn her into a little calico cat.
illian wakes up alive and kittenish, able to talk to the animals directly for the first time, but worried about aunt and looking to be changed back into a person.
hich leads her on a journey of adventures, where she meets and converses with a cow, jack crow, a handsome fox, the bear people, a possum witch; where she is transformed and transformed again and learns the dangers of getting what you wish for and the unforeseen consequences of messing with magic.
illian will also meet up with the father of cats himself.
t’s a cute little story, but it’s the artwork that makes me love it.
nd as you can see, each chapter opens with a different letter/animal entwinement, which is a nice touch.
here’s a companion book to this one, in this illustrated format, but it doesn’t seem to be cat-centric, so i’m not sure i will follow up with that one. i may read more books in this world, though, if anyone wants to give me some guidance.
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LOOK! I HAVE KEPT A PROMISE!!!
i will read it as soon as i can i promise i promise!!!
i read it!
review TK!
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