Charlie Anderson

I absolutely loved reading this children’s book due to its language and plot. First, I enjoyed how the author used questioning to help tell the story of Charlie Anderson. The author included questions such as “Where was he?, Why wouldn’t he come out of the woods?, Was he alright?” I like how these questions helped to convey the feelings of the main characters to the reader. Second, I really enjoyed the way the author used the cat’s life to mirror the life of the girls. Just like them the cat had two homes and two families that both loved him equally. This book’s surprise ending that displayed the parallels was truly wonderful to read. The main idea of this book is that while divorce can be devastating to a family, having two show more homes and two families can lead to two times as much love. show less

A family finds a new cat living in the woods, who comes insides and makes himself at home. As they grow to love their new pet, they know he still needs the forest and let him go. To their surprise the children discover that their cat is not going to the woods at all, but instead has another family! This book is a great tool for synthesizing as when you first read it you may think its about a cat, but as you re-read the story and pay attention to details it is a story about children of divorce or split families who are so lucky to have more than one family to love them.

Charles Anderson is one of the best children’s books that I’ve read thus far. The story addresses the topic of divorce in a very thoughtful, light-hearted way. The author uses an outdoor cat as an analogy for the children that travel between two homes. The cat stays at the original owner’s home during the day time, but comes to the little girls’ bedroom to sleep at night. This directly relates to the two little girls in the story, who live with their mother during the week and see their father on the weekend. Nothing in the story makes divorce seem like a bad or abnormal occurrence. Furthermore, the author ends the story saying “He’s a lucky cat” that leaves the reader with the central theme of the book: children of show more divorced families are lucky because they have two families that love them. show less

I thought that this story was really cute for a few reasons. I love the illustrations because the style fits the written text. For example, they are soft and warm, just like Charlie, the fuzzy cat and how he makes both Elizabeth and Sarah feel when he comes to visit them at night. I also like the plot, due to its suspense of not knowing where Charlie goes during the day, but more importantly where he was on a stormy night since he never came to visit like he normally did. I like that this story is very subtle about the topic of divorce and in the end represents a sense of love from both families. The characters are very relatable, especially when the two girls can’t find Charlie, the cat. Many readers can probably relate to not being show more able to find their lost animals when they ran away, and the sadness and worrisome they experienced just as Sarah and Elizabeth did when they were waiting for Charlie to come home. The big idea of this story is that divorce isn’t so bad because the child, or cat in this case, is happy and has two loving families that take care of him and love him from the bottom of their hearts. show less

"Charlie Anderson" was an amazing picture book. I have a cat, Lucky, at home who has become part of our family. He is mainly an outdoor cat; however, he tends to sleep on our screened in porch. The part where the two little girls are waiting for Charlie to return to them during the storm reminded me of what my mom and I would do for Lucky when he wasn't on our porch at night. The author did a good job portraying what the children were going through but through the cat Charlie. I really enjoyed that the main idea was not completely expressed until the very end of the book. The main idea of this story was that a person (or a cat) can have two homes, two families, and love both of them equally.

I really enjoyed this picture book. One of the reasons I liked this book was because of the plot. I thought the idea of the story was very clever and well thought-out. The idea of explaining divorce to kids through another medium such as a pet provides a way of showing them a fun story while also subtly showing the basic ideas of divorce. The concept of divorce can be very difficult to comprehend depending on how old the child is, and they may not realize how much emotional damage the situation may be having on them. This is a great way to explain that without confronting the child directly.
A second reason I liked this book was because of the characters. This is partially because I am very much in love with cats. I also really enjoyed show more the characters of the girls. I liked how concerned they got when Charlie didn’t come home after the storm; I liked how determined they were to go house-to-house searching for him. Their characters were very well thought out, as well as thoroughly developed. By the end of the story, it seems that the girls have managed to cope with their home situation as well as Charlie’s.
The big idea that I picked up on in this story is that divorce does not need to be sad all the time. A separated home can mean two homes that you are loved in instead of just one. show less

Charlie Anderson is a great book. It is a story of two girls finding their missing cat with a shocking ending that opens the reader’s eyes to a deeper meaning. I really liked the plot, because it began by establishing the close bond the two girls, Elizabeth and Sarah, built with their cat named Charlie. Then, the plot grew very suspenseful as Charlie went missing. The reader can feel the suspense and feelings of the girls through their questions, “Where was he? Was he alright? Was he cold or hurt?” On top of the suspenseful plot, I really liked the ending, which truly opens the reader’s eyes to a tough issue that many children are facing in this time period: divorce. When Elizabeth and Sarah finally find Charlie living at show more another house with another family who calls him Anderson, they realize that Charlie has two families just as they do. Just like they live with their mom in the country and visit their dad in the city, Charlie lives with the girls at night and his other family during the day. The girls can connect with Charlie and understand that he now has two families that love him, and decide to call him Charlie Anderson for now on. Overall, the big idea is that having two families that love you and care about you isn’t a bad thing at all. show less