Annie M.G. Schmidt (1911–1995)

Absolutely delightful. It’s about a young newspaper reporter who is struggling to keep his job because he can’t seem to find newsworthy stories- he always writes things about the cats around town, and his boss doesn’t approve. One day he helps a woman get down from a tree- she climbed up there very fast to escape from a dog. The young lady seems confused and it’s late so he offers her a place to stay. Her behavior is very odd- she does a lot of things that remind him of a cat- and show more then she confesses that she is a cat- or was- and can’t figure out how to change back again. He doesn’t believe her at first but then discovers that she can still talk to cats, and she brings him all sorts of stories from around town that the local cats share with her- real news that nobody else has heard yet. Suddenly his job is going great. But then the cats start telling stories about a very admired and well-to-do man doing terrible things. Can he trust what the cats say? How can he publish these stories, or do anything to stop the man, without proof? The cats are determined to help, though. And through it all Minou, his cat lady, is still trying to figure out who she is, where her loyalties lie, and if she wants to return to her old life as a cat, once the means become possible.

I just really loved how cattish (to use a word from the book) Minou’s character was. Very believable. The other cat characters were great- all individual personalities. And best of all the book kept me laughing out loud, there’s just so many funny moments. I would be happy to read more by this author. show less

What good fortune that Delacorte Books for Young Readers chose to reissue Annie M.G. Schmidt’s The Cat Who Came in off the Roof, a charming tale of a timid newspaper reporter and the clever but mysterious woman who comes to his rescue! Originally published in Dutch in 1970, this children’s story has lost none of its charm in the ensuring five decades.

In danger of losing his job for typing out nothing but stories about cats, the excruciatingly shy Mr. Tibble has been directed to get past show more his reluctance to interview folks and bring home some real news to the Killenthorn Courier, the town’s newspaper. A chance encounter with a pretty redhead named Miss Minou gives Tibble the big break he needs; so as not to spoil things, let’s just say that Miss Minou is able to find out scoops due some very unusual abilities. I know that readers — be they young or simply young at heart — will find Miss Minou and Mr. Tibble as irresistible as I did!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Random House Children’s and Delacorte Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. show less

Every once and awhile I get an absolute gem of a book through the Early Reviewers Program and this time it is a diamond of the highest quality. Annie M G Schmidt's book A Pond Full of Ink is filled with poems that captivated my whole family from my young son who is 4 through me (the eldest at 40-um-something). My 5 year old is just learning to read and poems are a wonderful way for her to get the sense of accomplishment that comes from reading something beginning to end. The translation was show more done by David Colmer but I kind of wonder what they looked like in Ms. Schmidt's native Dutch.

In addition to the poems, the artwork of Sieb Posthuma is breathtaking in the way it expresses a sense of pictures through words that Ms. Schmidt's poems are able to create. Such color and strength this pictures have, so bright and vibrant in every way possible. The book copy I got is unbound which is delightful because we plan to frame some of the complete poems and hang them on our wall as art.... yes it is that good.

Bravo for this wonderful family book of poetry and pictures. show less

A Pond Full of Ink is an enjoyable collection of irreverent poetry and colorful illustrations reminiscent of Shel Silverstein. There is one exception, which you can omit or change to redeem an otherwise lovely book.

In a poem entitled "The Furniture", personified household objects begin to venture outside for fresh air. One by one, chest, table, chair, and others join the outing, but a lamp and a clock can't go with them. The reason? "...they know that life is like that: those who don't have show more legs stay home."

It's an unfortunate choice of words that an editor could have remedied. Despite the playful reference to furniture legs, this last line leaves children with the message that you can't leave the house and have fun without legs. It ostracizes those who don't have legs--or can't use them--and reinforces narrow ideas of ability.

Gaffe aside, A Pond Full of Ink is lighthearted and vividly illustrated--an otherwise life-affirming book that particularly lends itself to reading aloud. show less