Cat on the Hill

Once a sea cat, before his human captain became too old to care for him, a homeless feline lives on the hill overlooking a fishing village, surviving on the food that tourists share with him. When winter comes and visitors stop coming to the hill, the cat must venture down into the village, competing with the fierce local strays for scraps of food. After a particularly fruitless Christmas-time visit, in which he fails to find anything to eat, the cat retreats to his hill. Has he been forgotten, or is there one human, at least, who is aware of him and his needs...?

An engaging book, particularly for lovers of all things feline, Cat on the Hill features a heartwarming story of a cat who discovers that he has not been forgotten after all, show more and beautiful illustrations that are colorful and expressive. The cat's terror, in the scenes in which he flees before the town cats, is particularly well done. I admit that I was expecting the cat to find a home, and consider the conclusion, in which the fisherman's son shares some food with the cat on a cold winter night, to be a second-best outcome. That said, the conclusion was still quite moving, with the artwork creating almost a nativity scene, as the boy, dog, cat, horse and donkey all huddle together in a make-shift shelter that resembles the legendary stable in Bethlehem. Given the fact that Michael Foreman also wrote and illustrated Cat In the Manger, which tells the tale of the Nativity from the perspective of a cat, I have difficulty imagining that this artistic choice was accidental or unknowingly done, which begs the question: what does it mean that the cat takes the place of the Christ Child in this tableau?

An interesting and engaging book, one that will lead more thoughtful readers to ponder the meaning of the Christmas story, and its significance for human-animal relations, Cat on the Hill is a book I would like to recommend wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, the author's decision to include language objectionable in a picture-book aimed at younger children - the cat twice describes a local dog as 'that damned dog' - gives me pause. I wouldn't like to hear a six-year-old using that language, so it seems unfair to include it in a book aimed at a child of this age. While this would otherwise have been a four-star book for me, I deducted a star for the language issue. Without it, this is an outstanding book. show less

"That damned dog" charmed me. I hadn't previously thought about this, but there should be more picture books with mild profanity. Says the woman who really enjoys swearing and profanity. I suspect that many people who would not necessarily choose a book with such mildly salty language will nonetheless find themselves thinking fondly of this one in the end.

Library copy