Mrs. Katz and Tush

Dragged along on a condolence call to his widowed upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Katz, young Larnel is struck by the older woman's loneliness, and offers her the runt of a litter of kittens. Mrs. Katz accepts, on the condition that he help with the care of little Tush. And so begins a long-lasting friendship between the young African-American boy and the Jewish widow - a friendship that will effect the course of both of their lives...

A tale of friendship across religious, racial, cultural, and age lines, Mrs. Katz and Tush is Patricia Polacco at her best! Every character is well drawn - in both prose and picture - feeling natural and true to life. Tush herself is as adorable a literary cat as any I've met. The reality of difference, and our show more ability to transcend it through love, is explored in an immensely moving way, as are the similarities between the Jewish and African-American experience. I confess that I have to blink away tears, every time I read the conclusion. Highly, highly recommended! show less

This book is so touching, and shoes that family doesn't have to be blood related, which I very much relate to. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Katz is all alone until her neighbor brings her a kitten she names Tush. Larnel and Mrs. Katz grow closer together as she teaches him all about her culture, and they find that their ancestors' histories are very similar. It's so sweet that Mrs. Katz becomes a part of his family as he grows up and becomes a father.

In this book, a lonely kitten brings these two unusual characters together, a young African- American boy, Larnel, and a widowed Jewish woman, Mrs. Katz. While taking care of the cat together, Larnel got to learn of Mrs. Katz background and culture and found many similarities in his culture to hers. They had a great time together, learning from each other and in the end became the best of friends and family. The book that can be used with younger children to show how to be different can mean to be alike or with older children to show the Jewish culture and history of Mrs. Katz. This was such a sweet book.

This is a beautiful book about a friendship between an older woman and young boy. Larnel meets Mrs.Katz when his mothers visits her everyday. Mrs. Katz is a widow who is going through a difficult time getting over the death of her husband. One day Larnel gets the idea to give Mrs. Katz a kitten so she wouldn't be lonely anymore. She kept the kitten and called him Tush. The only condition to accepting the kitten would be that Larnel would have to come visit everyday and help take care of Tush. As the weeks went by Larnel sees Mrs. Katz as family and learns about her culture. He even spends a Jewish holiday, Passover, with her. As years go by we see their relationship turn into this amazing family bond. I can relate to this story because show more when I was little and had just moved into my house I met Mrs. Debbie. I now call her grandma. Family doesn't mean you have to share the same blood or culture. It just means you love and care for each other. Family means you are willing to be there for them through the good and the bad times. show less

Lamel doesn't know Mrs. Katz very well, but he sees that she is alone since her husband died. When he hears that she is sad because she will have no one with her for Hanukkah or passover, he has the idea to give her the runt kitten they found who doesn't have a home. She calls the cat Tush since he doesn't have a tail. Lamel visits Mrs. Katz everyday after school to eat kugel, talk with Mrs. Katz, and help take care of Tush. Mrs. Katz exposes Lamel to Jewish traditions and relates that her ancestors are like Lamel's in their injustices. Lame becomes a part of Mrs. Katz family and even when he is older with his wife and children, they visit her grave in the cemetery and read from her prayer book to pay respect. This story is one of my show more favorites. I love the relationship between the two characters. The theme is of friendship and commonality with people who seem completely different, and finding out that they are not. show less

This is a bit heavy handed but still very nice. Perhaps that is just Patricia Polacco’s style as she frequently makes me cry and here again I did cry.

This is a story of an elderly Jewish woman who grieves the loss of her husband. Caring neighbors visit her. When a child gives her a cat without a tail, thus the name Tush, a loving friendship develops.

As the young boy listens to her stories and realizes that as a Jew she was unaccepted in places, and, as an African American, he knows that his family experiences bigotry as well.

This is a wonderful story of friendship that transcends age and cultural differences.