Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats

by Alicia Potter, Birgitta Sif (Illustrator)

Overview

A tale with many tails, perfect for cat lovers everywhere!
 
Miss Hazeltine is opening a very special school for shy and fearful cats.  They come from all over, and Miss Hazeltine gives them lessons in everything, from “Bird Basics” to “How Not to Fear the Broom.”
 
The most timid of all is Crumb. He cowers in a corner. Miss Hazeltine doesn’t mind. But when she gets in trouble and only Crumb knows where she is, will he find his inner courage and lead a daring rescue?
 
Filled with adorable illustrations and ideal for fans of Disappearing Desmond and The Invisible Boy, Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats is a story that’s perfect for shy and fearful children as it both helps them face scary situations and accepts them just as they are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385753357
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alicia Potter is the author of several picture books, including Mrs. Harkness and the Panda, which was a Cybils Award winner and was named an NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. She lives in Boston, where she is a freelance writer and children’s book reviewer. As a former animal shelter “foster mom,” she has coaxed many a kitten out from under the bed.
 
Birgitta Sif was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, and lived in and around Scandinavia and the United States while growing up. She is the author and illustrator of Oliver, a finalist for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for picture books in the United Kingdom. She currently lives in Sweden with her family.

Editorial Reviews

2015-01-20
A caring young woman who takes in homeless cats finds her kindness rewarded when she suffers in turn. The plot is slight and straightforward, if delightfully far-fetched, and Potter's use of clever language further enhances its appeal. Whether given up by their previous owners because of perceived deficiencies ("He runs from mice!") or strays who find their ways to Miss Hazeltine's house on their own, each and every cat is welcomed and rehabilitated. Miss Hazeltine teaches them to pounce, climb, stretch and "think good thoughts." She even shares her own secret fears with Crumb, the smallest, most frightened cat of them all. Meanwhile Sif's quirky, pencil-drawn, digitally colored illustrations create a vaguely fairy-tale feel, especially in Miss Hazeltine's cozy home in the forest, which suits the traditional trope of the least likely hero overcoming obstacles to save his beloved. In contrast, touches of modernity and humor, like the heroine's red high-tops or her use of yoga postures (cat and cow, anyone?) to encourage the strays' skill-building, add visual interest and a charming freshness. Vignettes, single- and double-page spreads are perfectly paired with the text and offer plenty of details—and cats—to pore over. Listeners of all stripes, feline fanciers or not, will be pleased and amused as the mild adventure winds to a happily-ever-after ending. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Review