Highway Cats

A trio of kittens are dumped along the highway from a truck and miraculously make their way across the highway to the forest where the highway cats live. The highway cats are a tough bunch, all stray, long-abandoned and eking out a feral existance. Helpless little kittens go against their tough-it-out-for-yourself mentality. But something about these mystical kittens breaks down the walls and renews tenderness and hope in the hardened cats, which fortifies them for a showdown with a road construction crew about to tear down the forest. Kids will be caught up by the adventure and magic of this feline fantasy; more logical and concrete readers will be peeved not to know Who are these kittens? Where did they come from? Why are they show more magical? How did they stop the bulldozers? show less

I'm not sure how this reads to children, so I can't qualify this along those lines, but this was a delightful read for me. My own cat was snuggled against me at the time, and I don't mind telling you it made me hug him a few times. This was the first paper book I've read this year, so we got a silent chuckle when I tried to turn a page by poking it a few times. "You dunderhead, Maggie! This isn't the Kindle!" I loved the tough-but-secretly-loving-and-adorable Kahlia Koo and Shredder, the perpetually cynical Murray the Claw, and the ignorance of the stupid humans involved in this story. The mayor made me think of our mayor. I wanted to see him lose and be emotionally castrated in this story, but then, I am an old woman and not part of show more the usual reading audience Ms. Lisle would be targeting.

117, not 112 pages, and it took probably 2 hours for me to read. show less

Feral cats, embittered by their hard life living around a trash strewn highway, learn to work together to stop a cynical politician from building a shopping center over this last piece of open space that they call home. A quick read, great mix of plot and character development dealing with the subject of overdevelopment, trash, abandoned animals and dirty politics while remaining light, and age appropriate. I loved it and am recommending it to good readers, upper elementary, early middle school who are looking for more but not a 500 page epic.

I found this book a little odd on first reading. At the beginning of the book, I thought that the kittens would become the main characters. But it turned out that the old cats Shredder and Khalia Koo were the main focus. The kittens remained mysteriously vague. The older, rougher cats were mesmerized by the kitten's innocence and playfulness - they survived because of their miraculous luck, while the older cats survived because of their tough wits. I'm not sure how much this will appeal...

In what f'd up world are feral cats the good guys? And how can a cat raise rats for a pet-food cannery, much less do business w/ the canners? And why is 3/4 of the book world-building and 1/4 climax & epilogue, with no actual story? And I guess coyotes would seem awfully scary to outdoor cats, but they needn't have been referenced as if evil. Illustrations are nifty, though.

The highway cats are a mean, scraggly, tough bunch. You know these cats are bad when they respond to a box of kittens being left beside the highway by betting on which ones, if any, will make it across the busy roadway without being splatted by a truck. Strangely enough, all three kittens do make it across the road and a rumor starts that they’re miracle kittens. Soon, even stranger things are happening. Under the kittens’ influence, the highway cats actually start cleaning up themselves and their language. Khalia Koo, their leader and the toughest of them all, appears to be softening to the kittens. Old Shredder sees something special in the kittens and something like a soft glow surrounding them. Could the kittens actually be show more magic? Or even a real live miracle? The highway cats could certainly use a miracle because the mayor has his eye on their little scrap of land. But what can three little kittens and a ragtag band of cats do against the might and power of city hall, not to mention construction workers and their huge machines? Turns out, there may be more power in these three little kittens than the highway cats ever imagined, but will it be enough to save the day? Read and find out!

This was a strange little book, but entertaining enough. I'm particularly fond of one of my book club kid's response to it: "Not as bad as I thought it was going to be."

May 2010 Cover 2 Cover selection. show less

I'm not sure if I enjoyed this book, but I feel like I may be enlightened some about feral cats. You couldn't help but feel for the little kittens, but I wish we could have gotten to know them better, and had even known their names. But alas, they were to remain mysterious and almost magical. This book would be good for an older child who likes cats, but not someone who is super sensitive.