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48th out of 95 books
—
698 voters
The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook
by
Joanne Rocklin (Goodreads Author)
In this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vet’s office, convinced he can only get better at home with them, Oona tells Fred the story of Zook’s previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of life. Each of Zook’s lives ha...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
April 1st 2012
by Harry N. Abrams
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Review for my indie bookstore boss from reading the Advance Reader Copy:
How can one children's book contain so many of The Big Difficult Conversations between adults and kids? And how does it manage it with such hope, humor and delight? From the death of a parent, the prospect of a step-parent, the illness of a pet, a child's responsibilities in a community, how siblings and friends can support and teach each other, the many aspects of honesty, even the joy of reading and a bit of ecological awa...more
How can one children's book contain so many of The Big Difficult Conversations between adults and kids? And how does it manage it with such hope, humor and delight? From the death of a parent, the prospect of a step-parent, the illness of a pet, a child's responsibilities in a community, how siblings and friends can support and teach each other, the many aspects of honesty, even the joy of reading and a bit of ecological awa...more
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5 comforting chocolate chip cookies.
Cover Love: Yes. I love the colors and the cats. I love how big the title is. It is very eye catching.
Why I Wanted to Read This: I adored One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street also by Joanne Rocklin. I was excited to read this one!
Read the rest of my review here on my blog.
Cover Love: Yes. I love the colors and the cats. I love how big the title is. It is very eye catching.
Why I Wanted to Read This: I adored One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street also by Joanne Rocklin. I was excited to read this one!
Read the rest of my review here on my blog.
How would you feel if your pet became very ill? Ten-year-old Oona Armstrong lives in an Oakland, CA, apartment with her mother Terri, five-year-old brother Fred, and their cat named Zook, which is short for Zucchini. Oona and Fred’s dad Max had died two years before from cancer. Nearby is O’Leary’s Pizza where the kids work to help bring customers in and they get to eat fried zucchini, the only vegetable Fred likes—and thus the cat’s name. Now Zook himself has become sick, so Oona comforts Fred...more
Okay I am not that person that hates on kids books. (okay thats a lie i hate on any mlp book or show and that tangled book because i hate that stuff because my cousin for FORCED ME to watch and it.)
any ways its not a very entertaining book. Its about 2 kids who find a cat and who was perviously owned by some one else that shot be be guns at them. Also the random assumptions her sister made to explain things to her clueless brother. They geared it towards 6, 7, 8, maybe 9 or 10 year olds but read...more
any ways its not a very entertaining book. Its about 2 kids who find a cat and who was perviously owned by some one else that shot be be guns at them. Also the random assumptions her sister made to explain things to her clueless brother. They geared it towards 6, 7, 8, maybe 9 or 10 year olds but read...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This fun romp involves a cat named, Zook, who meows like a bull horn, "EE-OW! EE-OWEY!" so it be heard above all beings with a pulsating heart. Remember the wild-haired scientistEmmett who loved to shout "Gadzooks!" in the movie, "Back to the Future?" Zook's name makes me think of him and I picture the cat with wild eyes and hair sticking out like porcupine quills. But Zook's name comes from O'Leary's famous fried zucchini that was used to catch him. Yum, yum. Or yuck, yuck depending on your tas...more
Ever since Oona found Zook, short for zucchini, in the alley by their apartment, the kitty has been a big part of her family’s life. He helped comfort Oona’s dad when he was dying of cancer, and he’s a constant companion to Oona and her little brother, Fred. But when Zook gets sick and has to stay at the vet’s office, Oona and Fred both worry that he won’t make it.
To distract Fred, and to buoy up her own spirits, Oona tells him that cats have nine lives, and Zook is on his fifth. She creates ima...more
To distract Fred, and to buoy up her own spirits, Oona tells him that cats have nine lives, and Zook is on his fifth. She creates ima...more
What makes cozy novel like this one stay on your mind and in your heart? A narrator with a true and unique voice, rebuses, gardening, pizza, stories within the story, beautiful people that you want in your life, the asking of BIG life questions, and one special cat. Rocklin's writing is invisible in Oona's voice.
Run out and get this book. There are a few moments that I would describe as "hankie required" but don't let that scare you off!
The audio book is awesome!
Run out and get this book. There are a few moments that I would describe as "hankie required" but don't let that scare you off!
The audio book is awesome!
1 like · like · see review
I got this book from someone in administration. I'm not sure, even now, why the ESL administrator sent it to me but it's definitely marked "To Laura Gonzalez".
I'm curious why it was sent to me. I thought maybe the book itself might give me a clue. It doesn't. It's an uncorrected proof so maybe she got it for free and is passing it on. So now I guess I'll have to ask.
In any case, I loved it. There were times when I was really bothered by the adult agendas. I understand that the book is set in Oak...more
I'm curious why it was sent to me. I thought maybe the book itself might give me a clue. It doesn't. It's an uncorrected proof so maybe she got it for free and is passing it on. So now I guess I'll have to ask.
In any case, I loved it. There were times when I was really bothered by the adult agendas. I understand that the book is set in Oak...more
Teachers, Parents, and Librarians, You Need This Book
Five Stars
For those of you searching for a well-rounded, thorough, imaginative tale, look no further. The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook is a rare book. Lovers of Junie B. Jones will enjoy this story.
Joanne Rocklin takes a multitude of elements and weaves them beautifully throughout this story. Some details are silly, others small, and a few of them matter most. A flower pot, sweatshirt, catmint, secrets, and loving family members with us and tho...more
Five Stars
For those of you searching for a well-rounded, thorough, imaginative tale, look no further. The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook is a rare book. Lovers of Junie B. Jones will enjoy this story.
Joanne Rocklin takes a multitude of elements and weaves them beautifully throughout this story. Some details are silly, others small, and a few of them matter most. A flower pot, sweatshirt, catmint, secrets, and loving family members with us and tho...more
Oona and her younger brother Fred adore their cat Zook, and when he becomes ill, Oona tells stories about his other lives. After all, cats have nine lives, and he hasn't used all of his up yet. But cats don't actually have nine lives, of course, and despite the best efforts of the veterinarian and their neighbor Dylan who injects fluids into Zook, the inevitable happens. Throughout the story, perfect for middle graders, Oona stretches the truth and keeps a secret of her own about how Zook came t...more
Ten-year-old Oona and her five-year-old brother Fred are worried about their cat Zook. He is in the veterinary hospital suffering from failing kidneys and dehydration. As they await his hoped-for recovery and return home, Oona does her job - keeping Fred from worrying - by telling him stories about Zook's other lives before he came to live with them. Over the course of the story, Oona creates four past lives for Zook, including the one where he comes to live with Oona and Fred. Oona has a secret...more
What an utterly charming and delightful book! Oona and her little brother Freddy are feeling down since their cat Zook (short for Zucchini) has to spend some time at the vet. One of Oona's jobs is to make sure Freddy's happy, so she tells wonderfully imaginative stories about Zook's previous lives, since he, of course, has nine. As they wait for Zook to recover, Oona learns some important things about family, friendship, true love, and loss.
Rocklin has done an amazing job at seamlessly weaving s...more
Rocklin has done an amazing job at seamlessly weaving s...more
The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin and read by Georgette Perna turned out to be an absolute treasure of a listening experience.
Synopsis: In this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vet’s office, convinced he can only get better at home with them, Oona tells Fred the story of Zook’s previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of lif...more
Synopsis: In this warmhearted middle-grade novel, Oona and her brother, Fred, love their cat Zook (short for Zucchini), but Zook is sick. As they conspire to break him out of the vet’s office, convinced he can only get better at home with them, Oona tells Fred the story of Zook’s previous lives, ranging in style from fairy tale to grand epic to slice of lif...more
Heartwarming is the best word to describe this novel. Wonderful characters particularly the narrator, 10-year-old Oona, who is big sister to 5-year-old Fred. Oona's theories about types of whoppers and how to tell a story propel much of the book as she relates her life with her mother, her father who passed away, her brother, her mother's new boyfriend, and of course Zook. Oona tells Fred stories about their cat Zook's previous four lives and eventually Fred tells how Zook came to them. Oona kno...more
I really liked her previous book "One Day and One Amazing Morning On Orange Street" but what made me pick this up is the cover with the two kids and the adorable cats. Oona and Fred's cat, Zook, is very sick, and Oona tries to comfort her little brother by telling him the stories of Zook's previous lives, since after all, if cats have nine lives, then perhaps Zook's time is not over after all. Fair warning: there is a lot of death in this book (the children’s father has died a few years previous...more
For grades 3 - 6, ages 8 and up, Lexile: 760L
Review:
Oona is really good at noticing things like the vet has long nails on his hands or the little old lady smelling of peppermint. So it is no surprise that she noticed Zook, short for zucchini, in the alley by their apartment. Zook helped comfort Oona's dad when he was dying of cancer, he Oona's and her kid brother Fred's constant companion until Zook gets sick. To comfort her and Fred, Oona tells Fred that Zook is on his fifth out of nine lives....more
Review:
Oona is really good at noticing things like the vet has long nails on his hands or the little old lady smelling of peppermint. So it is no surprise that she noticed Zook, short for zucchini, in the alley by their apartment. Zook helped comfort Oona's dad when he was dying of cancer, he Oona's and her kid brother Fred's constant companion until Zook gets sick. To comfort her and Fred, Oona tells Fred that Zook is on his fifth out of nine lives....more
Oona's cat Zook is sick, and Oona spends a lot of time comforting her little brother Fred with stories of Zook's 9 lives. (She uses rebuses to help him learn to read at the same time!) Meanwhile, Oona is struggling with the loss of her father the year before, her guilty secret about how Zook came to join their family, and her mom's new relationship with Villain--oops, I mean Dylan. Quirky bits about her and Fred's dancing job at the pizza parlor and the various whoppers Oona tells give lots of o...more
Maybe suggest for book club?
I like this book because it tells good stories. It also fells like it is real life if you are facing with a animal who might die. My Aunt Ashley would like this book because it is drama. She likes drama because she watches reality tv shows on tv. The challenging thing in this book was the point of view. A character was naming somebody the villain and i didn't know the real name. Then a guy named Dylan came around and and i didn't know if the villain was Dylan or not. In the book a cat name Zook...more
Oona and her brother Fred aren't thrilled about their beloved cat Zook (Zucchini) being kept at the vet after an illness. They decide to take matters into their own hands and break the cat out of kitty jail. In order to convince Fred that Zook will get better, Oona tells some pretty tall tales about the previous lives of Zook. Zook has been a Royal Cat among princes and princesses, and a Ghost Cat living with a wretched old woman. Each story reflects Oona and her brother's Fred lives as they try...more
Rocklin writes absolutely charming books, and this one is no exception. Oona is a precocious, yet generally authentic child narrator, and her personality dominates the story, but it's a fun personality to spend time with. Most of the adult characters are complex if a little vague, and the plot is a bit serendipitous, though the ending is realistic and satisfying. Oona's world of rebuses, whoppers, and multy-culty urban neighbors is highly enjoyable and easy to fall into, full of love and friends...more
My Review: If you are a cat lover you would want to read Five Lives of Our Cat Zook. This touching story tell about a 10 years old girl who watched her father die of cancer and is still grieving for him, her beloved cat is now sick and the only thing she can do is tell stories to Fred to keep him happy.
Oona and her brother Fred found Zook the cat in an alley while they were eating lunch from O’Leary’s. They took the cat home and their mother agreed that they can keep him. Zook left ill and they...more
Oona and her brother Fred found Zook the cat in an alley while they were eating lunch from O’Leary’s. They took the cat home and their mother agreed that they can keep him. Zook left ill and they...more
*****PLEASE NOTE THAT I WON THIS BOOK IN A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY*****
This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on August 6 2012.
I loved this book. The characters are loveable, the wordplay is fun, there are tons of interesting theories told only the way a child would tell them. I loved it for the variety in perspective. It was such a nice change from all the YA and Adult fiction that I normally read.
In this story we meet Freddy and Oona, brother and sister who are being raise...more
This review was originally posted on Melissa's Midnight Musings on August 6 2012.
I loved this book. The characters are loveable, the wordplay is fun, there are tons of interesting theories told only the way a child would tell them. I loved it for the variety in perspective. It was such a nice change from all the YA and Adult fiction that I normally read.
In this story we meet Freddy and Oona, brother and sister who are being raise...more
For cat lovers especially, this story is of Oona, an older sister desperately trying to protect her younger brother from the harsh realities of life, through the inventive telling of whoopers and lies. All the while putting on a brave face instead of grieving over the death of their father, Oona tries to find redemption in the adoption (some would say abduction) of a bb-bullet riddled cat, christened Zook. When Zook suddenly gets sick, can Oona spin a lie that will not only give comfort to her b...more
This is a beautiful story lover's story. Oona and her brother younger brother, Fred, have a cat named Zook who has been sick. Oona tells Fred how cats have nine lives and Zook is only on his fifth life. Their father died several years ago from a long illness, and now it is just them, Mom and the cat. What Oona has never told anyone is how she found Zook- through less than totally honest means. Oona needs to come to terms with Zook's health, while taking care of Fred (which she claims is one of h...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It would be hard for any book to match One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street in my estimation, since it spoke to me on so many levels and is so beautifully crafted, but The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook was not a disappointment by any means. It's a great book for cat lovers, girls with little brothers, any child who has lost a parent, and especially classrooms learning about storytelling. It's hard to name any read-alikes, since the book does take such a unique approach, but I could see...more
‘The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook’ is being marketed as juvenile fiction for ages eight and up, but it is a book that is certainly enjoyable for all ages. The story is told in the first person by a ten-year-old girl named Oona, who is a believable and authentic character.
Oona is a little girl with a big imagination. She is going through a tough time in her life. She is still recovering from her dad’s death, she is trying to cope with the illness of the family cat, and worst of all, her mother has...more
Oona is a little girl with a big imagination. She is going through a tough time in her life. She is still recovering from her dad’s death, she is trying to cope with the illness of the family cat, and worst of all, her mother has...more
This is a fantastic family story that manages to reach different levels of humor,love, sadness, angst and confusion without becoming too contrived. All of the characters feel genuine and the story line is hopeful but not sappy. There is a good deal of difficulty in the lives of the children, but it manages not to be a thoroughly depressing book. The foretelling title (5 lives,not 9) gives readers a chance to prepare for a not entirely happy ending. Some tears will fall. Started first two chapter...more
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I was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the land of four distinct seasons. The winters are so long!
Wintry days and nights inspired me to read many, many books, the most important thing a writer can do. Of course other seasons inspired me, too! And as soon as I learned to hold a pencil I began writing poems, stories, and diaries.
I have always owned cats (or they have owned me, a cliché, but true!)...more
More about Joanne Rocklin...
Wintry days and nights inspired me to read many, many books, the most important thing a writer can do. Of course other seasons inspired me, too! And as soon as I learned to hold a pencil I began writing poems, stories, and diaries.
I have always owned cats (or they have owned me, a cliché, but true!)...more
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“Why not"! That is SO wise. So many things would be possible in this world if you thought "Why not?" all day long.”
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