Cat Heaven

Each and every book written and/or illustrated by this author tugs at my heart strings. I'm not sure how she does it, but magic happens in the most simple sentence.

In poetic form, Rylant tells a lovely tale of the after life for cats. Her illustrations are not crisp and seem somewhat primative, still they are something to be proud about. Her writing is heart warmingly wonderful!

In my opinion, “Cat Heaven” is an excellent children’s book. First, the book pushes the reader to acknowledge difficult issues. The story is about where cats go once they have passed away. Cynthia Rylant does a great job addressing this topic delicately. She ultimately makes cat heaven a wonderful place to go for pets. For example, “And oh, all the toys, kitty toys everywhere, thousands and thousands by.” She describes how cats arrive there, what they can do all day, and how much they will be loved. Another example, “They’ll run past the starts and the moon and the sun…to curl up with God in the sky.” The message of the story is not only about death and loss, but the happiness found in cat heaven.

Wonderful rhymes about the way to
"cat heaven". Childlike illustrations, evocative and sweet. Use of "God" in the text might make it inappropriate for public school use.

Another comforting story for a cat owner to cope with while mourning the loss of their loved pet. I love how Cynthia Rylant puts the reader's mind at ease that their loved cat is living a wonderful life in cat heaven.

The illustrations in the book and the other book, Dog Heaven, are created by Cynthia Rylant. The illustrations use acrylic art and provided light hearted images that are appropriate for the younger reader as it almost feels as though a child created the illustrations.

A gentle and charming book to help a child say good-bye to a beloved pet.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner: 4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth; 4.1.2 read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading

Rylant, C. (1997). Cat heaven. New York: Blue Sky Press.

This is a very cute book that I read to my one on one first grader at work. She loves cats and always chooses cut books such as this one. This book shows a very cute way to help kids with the idea of letting go of their pets/ cat that may have died and gone on to cat heaven.:)

A lovely book about a difficult subject. According to Kirkus: writing in rhyme, Rylant assures readers that all cats already know the way to heaven's yellow door, and once past it will never want for laps, toys, or full kitty dishes.

A companion book to Rylant's previous title, Dog Heaven.