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Carbonel (1955)

by Barbara Sleigh

Other authors: V. H. Drummond (Illustrator)

Series: Carbonel (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4591654,448 (4.31)64
192 pages ***A cat, a broomstick and an ordinary girl are the makings of some extraordinary adventures. Age 7+
  1. 10
    Grimbold's Other World by Nicholas Stuart Gray (GeraniumCat)
    GeraniumCat: Old-fashioned but still charming, Carbonel is the story of a girl who buys a witches' cauldron and finds it comes with cat attached. There are two sequels, The Kingdom of Carbonel and Carbonel's Children.
  2. 00
    Half Magic by Edward Eager (al.vick)
  3. 00
    The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart (amanda4242)
  4. 00
    Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono (amanda4242)
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» See also 64 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
A gentle British fantasy originally published in 1955. A good hearted little girl's new pet turns out to be a former witch's cat, enslaved by a spell. Rosemary, her friend John, and the talking cat Carbonel rush around London gathering the items needed to break the spell. I enjoyed their adventures and the story earns 3 stars from me. Carbonel earns a fourth. His independent, sarcastic, yet affectionate personality is exactly right. ( )
  JanetNoRules | Sep 17, 2018 |
This was a fun children’s book that is well written and stands the test of time pretty well. It was written back in the 1950’s. I loved Carbonel and the wonderful relationship Rosemary has with her mother, as well as the friendship she develops with John.

There’s a bit of a treasure hunt theme to this book and I enjoyed it a lot. There is some terminology in here that is a bit dated and I kind of had to use the surrounding context to figure out what some words meant. Still this was a great read and something I think kids and adults will both enjoy.

My 11 year old son started to read this and stopped because he thought it was boring; so this book would probably be better for younger kids or adults who enjoy charming kids stories.

Overall this was a wonderful story about a young girl and her magical cat and the summer she spends hunting treasure with him. I enjoyed the writing style and the story; it stands up to the test of time very nicely. I would recommend to younger kids (not middle grade age, but younger) and adults who enjoy charming children’s stories. ( )
  krau0098 | May 3, 2018 |
I read this book when I was 11, found it in the Long-side Public library. It was an amazing adventure this one, not just because it starred a little girl and her cat, but because the adventures they had were crazy and fun. I have to read it once more. I always wanted to read the sequels, but never found them, now I'll have to look for the e-books. ( )
  PsYcHe_Sufi | Jul 12, 2015 |
I was reminded of this book (and its 2 sequels) by a post on Twitter, and thought it would be fun to read it for the first time in about 30 years! It's a nice kids summer holiday adventure with cats and magic and broomsticks. ( )
  AlisonSakai | Sep 14, 2014 |
Delightful book. It's a classic example of British children's fantasy. Rosemary and Lance aka John work to free a cat so that he may claim his throne that was stollen from him. So it has elements of high fantasy along with the Edith Nesbity children galavanting acround the city in persuit of adventure. ( )
  pussreboots | Aug 13, 2014 |
Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sleigh, Barbaraprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Drummond, V. H.Illustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed

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Rosemary's satchel bounced cheerfully up and down on her back as she hopped on and off the pavement of Tottenham Grove.
Quotations
By squeak of bat,

And brown owl's hoot,

By hellebore,

And mandrake root

Come swift, and silent

As the tomb,

Dark minion

Of the twiggy broom.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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192 pages ***A cat, a broomstick and an ordinary girl are the makings of some extraordinary adventures. Age 7+

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Book description
This is the story of a cat, a broomstick and quite an ordinary schoolgirl called Rosemary. She bought them both in the market, the broomstick for two and five pence, and the cat for three farthings, which was all the money she had left. Of course, neither cat nor broomstick was just what they seemed, and they turned up just when Rosemary badly needed something nice to happen to her. A good cat is apt to be independent, so she does not have things all her own way, and as Carbonel proved to be a Royal cat in a very special sense, that was understandable. Between the cat and the broomstick, Rosemary picked up some nice useful spells and magics, and the adventures they brought about turned a dull-looking holiday into one long to be remembered for its unexpected excitements and rewards.
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