The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof

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 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 show more 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 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 show more 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

This wonderful tale about a cat turned human is one of mutual friendship, caring, and kindness. Miss Minou, formerly cat, now human, still has a healthy fear of dogs, and finds herself up a tree. Mr. Tibble, reporter, helps her down, and thus begins an enduring and endearing friendship. Minou helps Tibble gather news stories so he can keep his job as a reporter, and in turn Tibble gives Minou a place to stay while she adapts – sort of – to being human. There is a bad man in this village, and the cats know it, even if the villagers are fooled by his acts of kindness. Though now human, Miss Minou can still converse with cats, and Mr. Tibble is only too glad to listen to what Minou has to say. But can they expose the bad man in time to show more save Tibble’s job and a mother cat’s kittens? This wonderful story is sure to enchant young and old alike, and the audio version, performed by Katherine Kellgren, is pure delight. show less

Minou (and I have a friend with a cat called this and kept thinking of her) finds herself human, instead of properly Cat, and she has a friend in Tibble, a journalist who is running the risk of being fired because he keeps writing small stories instead of big stories, but he's following his interests and he loves what he does. Minou helps him and while doing this discovers some town secrets.

A little simplistic in places but charming.

Very cute! a quick read. Pretty predictable in a good way. Woman who was once a cat comes to live with a cat loving reporter who is about to lose his job because he only writes about cats. Everyone is rescued, bad guys get their just deserts, all is happy in the end. My kind of story.

Minoes is een leuk boek. Ik heb vroeger de film al gezien en was toen al verliefd op het verhaal. We hebben bij mij thuis zelfs een kat genaamd Minoes gehad. Het boek heeft leuke en grappige personages. De personages zijn ook erg verschillend: onzeker, onwetend, slim en slecht. In het boek zijn weinig afbeeldingen. Afbeeldingen vond ik als een kind erg fijn, dus dat mis ik wel. Voor de rest heeft het boek geen gebruik gemaakt van moeilijk taalgebruik, hierdoor is het goed te lezen. Minoes is een leuk verhaal wat al voorgelezen kan worden aan kinderen van rond de 7 jaar. De kinderen kunnen het boek zelf lezen rond de leeftijd van 9 jaar. Het boek is zeker een aanrader!

Bekroond met een Zilveren Griffel (1971)

Dit boek was vroeger (net als de film) altijd één van mijn favorieten. Het is een superleuk verhaal met veel fantasie, leuke humor en soms is het ook een beetje spannend. Het is leuk om uit voorgelezen te worden maar ook om zelf te lezen. Het is wel een boek voor middenbouw/bovenbouw om zelf te lezen, door de manier waarop het is geschreven. Er staan ook niet heel veel plaatjes in, waardoor het voor jongere kinderen wat minder leuk/makkelijk is om te lezen.