Carbonel

A quiet, sweet, gently whimsical fantasy that feels a bit older than it is - it has a very pre-World War II tone despite being from 1955. (This sort of book would basically disappear by 1965.) The child characters are all very polite, and they have the run of both the outdoors and the local town - adults are never as intimidating or threatening as the children might initially expect. Some modern readers would dismiss it all as quite naive or boring, but it's actually quite relaxing: very much a kind of proto-Kiki's Delivery Service. This would be a good book for a shy little girl who loves cats, or for her mother to read aloud to her.

A children's book from the era of my own childhood (I remember reading the sequel, The Kingdom of Carbonel, borrowed from the library). This one came from a charity shop and I scooped it up gladly as an old friend.
Carbonel is a witch's cat. A little girl called Rosemary decides to help her widowed mother by getting a cleaning job, and buys a tatty broom from a dodgy old woman in the market. The cat is thrown in free; the old lady is a witch, trying to reform. But there's a spell on Carbonel, and Rosemary must find the cauldron and witch's hat to break it, so that Carbonel can come into his own kingdom again.
A delightful tale, told with the same kind of zest and enjoyment in magic as Harry Potter.

Long before Harry Potter, the Carbonel series captured that same British magical whimsy. Carbonel and its sequel were among my favorite books at the library when I was about 9-12. Imagine my delight when this book, originally published in 1955, was re-released... followed by two sequels! I didn't even know it was a trilogy. I completed my set, and now I'm reading through them from the beginning.

Young Rosemary plans on cleaning houses to make her summer break pass by. However, when she buys a ratty broom from an odd old lady at the market, a black cat is thrown into the bargain. But this cat is no ordinary cat: he is Carbonel, a kidnapped Prince of Royal Blood. He has spent his entire life as the witch's minion. Rosemary's purchase broke show more part of the curse, but there is still a spell of Silent Magic that holds him in bondage. To make things worse, his now-dead father's kingdom is in disarray with cruel usurping alley cats in charge, and Carbonel cannot take his rightful throne as a human's minion. Rosemary and her new friend John set out to solve the mystery and set the cat free by hunting out the artifacts used in the original spell.

This book is just as magical as when I first read in twenty years ago. I look forward to reading this with my own son in the coming years. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Dated, simple adventure fantasy. No real wisdom, resonance, or poignancy... or humor, for that matter. Everything kinda just falls into place: the children always have just enough pocket change, they never bicker, Carbonel is meant to be leader by right of Birth (which, you know, grates on my American sensibilities just too much), the rich lady is kind, the mother is patient, etc. Ok fine. Let's move along to Nesbit or Eager or Farjeon, all right?

This was a raving good time. I loved all of the characters, and it is consistently funny, well-written, and action packed. I love the way she phrases things, and I also love the way she writes dialog. Every character has a unique voice, and most have a funny way of saying things. I'm so glad this is only the first in a series of 3 novels, because I want to read more about Carbonel, Rosemarie and John.I realize I can't read all the NYRB Classics, so I've a mind to read all the NYRB Children's books instead, since there are considerably less of them. This was only my second in this series, hopefully I'll reach my goal one day!

This was a favorite book from my childhood, and it's still excellent 40 years later. I just ordered it for my own daughter, who just loves cats. (We have three.) Even though she's 15, she still loved reading Carbonel: The King of Cats. I'm so pleased that it's back in print! Some children's books are so good that you don't have to be young to enjoy them. This is one.