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rebekahy's review against another edition
4.0
Read this year's ago. Rereading as an adult was great as I'd forgotten a fair bit. Such a good story.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Lovely, a classic I'd never heard of. Today, we have many examples of children's (see the lately published Animalcolm by David Baddiel) about children turning to animals. This is an excellent example, as it really is carefully thought through, just how a child would experience another animal's world.
Peter is desperate for a pet - his mother is more interested in parties, his father away in the army, but he isn't allowed the cat he craves. After being knocked down by a car, he awakens as - a cat! Not recognised at home, he is soon out on the streets. A kind female comes to his aid and shows him his new world. And capabilities.
Jennie can't believe that Peter is really a human boy at first. WIll Peter learn the ways of cats, stay that way, or somehow manage to return to his old life? Would he want to?
The most impressive thing about this story was the wonderful passages of Peter learning to be a cat - how to lick himself, how to move through the world as a cat, how to fight as one. I loved this, it felt as though the author had done meticulous research!
The story is sweet, as Peter and Jennie loyally band together through adventures around the world, meeting kind and cruel people (and other animals), and working out just where they want to be.
Deserves to be better known, it's a lovely story and well told, not hard to read, needs a contemporary cover and would stand up well against modern animal stories.
One for ages 9 and above.
Peter is desperate for a pet - his mother is more interested in parties, his father away in the army, but he isn't allowed the cat he craves. After being knocked down by a car, he awakens as - a cat! Not recognised at home, he is soon out on the streets. A kind female comes to his aid and shows him his new world. And capabilities.
Jennie can't believe that Peter is really a human boy at first. WIll Peter learn the ways of cats, stay that way, or somehow manage to return to his old life? Would he want to?
The most impressive thing about this story was the wonderful passages of Peter learning to be a cat - how to lick himself, how to move through the world as a cat, how to fight as one. I loved this, it felt as though the author had done meticulous research!
The story is sweet, as Peter and Jennie loyally band together through adventures around the world, meeting kind and cruel people (and other animals), and working out just where they want to be.
Deserves to be better known, it's a lovely story and well told, not hard to read, needs a contemporary cover and would stand up well against modern animal stories.
One for ages 9 and above.
absilon's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yazgbooks's review
5.0
Reading this as a 19 year old girl all I can say is that this book is appropriate for all ages. It was wonderful, beautiful and outstanding. I've never read a book as great. Jennie is one of my favorite novels, Paul Gallico being a wonderful author. The ending was by far the most excruciating pain I've ever been in, it was utterly sad and I cannot find a book which can make me weep so much as this one has. I cried for hours and I couldn't sleep as all I wanted to do was kiss Jennie Baldrin and hold Peter in my arms. Thank you Paul Gallico.
heatherymakes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
theaceofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is probably the strangest book I've read this year. I picked it up on a whim (because cat and limited options) and I ended up having a surprisingly good time for most of it (although the ending confuses me...). I will say that Peter definitely doesn't feel like an eight year old though... At first kind of but then he suddenly gets very mature and things get weird but overall, it was a fun read! I did enjoy Peter learning how to be a cat. Gallico definitely did a surprisingly good job at getting into a cat's mind
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexism
Sexism is weird male claiming female and "be a man" stuff" that were common at the time it was writtentsenko2's review against another edition
5.0
Also known as The Abandoned, this was one of my all time favorite children’s books.
brandonychoi's review against another edition
3.0
The story was cute but the last few chapters felt flat, awkward, and rushed. Gallico was clearly a skilled writer but this book suffered from a few poor choices. The protagonist is an 8 year old boy, but is written with an unrealistic level of self-awareness and lucidity. While it’s extremely predictable early on in the plot, the story falls into the “it was all a dream” trope which is one of my least favorites. I liked the book overall and could see myself reading this aloud to my kids someday in the future, but it was one of my more disappointing reads of the year.
loofyj's review
5.0
Seriously, nobody knows cats as well as Paul Gallico. He writes the cat characters incredibly realistically, and sucks you into the plot to the point of no escape - finishing the book came as quite a shock! Absolutely amazing book, 100% recommend.