Dick Whittington and His Cat

by Marcia Brown

The well-loved tale of the London waif whose cat's prowess as a ratter results in Dick's becoming a successful merchant and Lord Mayor of London. Illustrated.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Fiction, Fairy Tales, 2nd Grade, Historical Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

An American children's book author and illustrator, and a high school teacher, Marcia Brown was born in Rochester, New York in 1918, and was educated at The New York State College for Teachers (now University at Albany). She taught at Cornwall High School in New York City, and published her first book, The Little Carousel, in 1946. She wrote and illustrated more than thirty books for children over the course of her career, winning three Caldecott Medals and six Caldecott Honors, as well as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal and the Regina Medal. She died in 2015.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rags-to-riches Cinderella story about a boy and his cat. The art is cut from linoleum which I don't know how that works, but it is interesting. This has a basis in old English folk tales.

Dick lives a depressing life for most of the book. It's like the misfortunate events series, things only get worse. He is even given a cat who is taken from him. Yet, the cat ends up from him fortune and things turn out ok.

The nephew likes cats and he thought the ending was good. He gave it 4 stars too. I found the story interesting and I enjoyed the rags to riches story.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came upon this photo, which reminded me of this story, which I know from a world-tales anthology I had as a child.



My library has this Marcia Brown version and the one by Margaret Hodges, so I'll probably read both for comparison.

This version by Brown is substantially different from the version of the story I learned. It focuses more on the suffering of Dick as a homeless orphan than on his relationship with his cat. The one I had as a kid had him and cat together for a much longer period, and him on the ship with the cat. Here he is basically forced to send his cat with the merchant vessel while he remains a lowly slavey, and I have to say I find it rather hard to believe that both the sailors and his master were so honest as to give him the wealth secured by his cat's mousing prowess. Still, a decent read and good linocuts.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selected as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1951 - one of six books by Marcia Brown, who also won the Caldecott Medal twice, to be so honored - Dick Whittington and His Cat is an engaging retelling of the classic English folktale, in which a poor young boy comes to London, finds employment as a lowly kitchen-worker in the home of a wealthy merchant, and through the rat-catching skill of his cat, makes a fortune. Brown's retelling, based - according to the dust-jacket blurb - on "original sources," includes all the traditional elements of the story, from the kindness of Mr. Fitzwarren the merchant, and his daughter Miss Alice, to the abusive cook, and the incident with the Bow Bells.

There was a historical Richard Whittington, who, like our hero, became Lord Mayor of London, but there is no record of his ever having had a cat, and he certainly did not come from an impoverished background. One wonders whether this tale, which, save for the name and occupation of its hero, is a complete fantasy, were somehow intended - whether consciously or not - as a kind of talisman of hope for the poor and downtrodden, a sign that their station in life was not immutable. Isn't that one of the functions of all such "poor boy/girl makes good" tales? In any case, Brown's picture-book is a success, with an entertaining narrative, and eye-catching linoleum-cut illustrations.

[Mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad that I got a chance to read this incredible story. I felt like the story was rushed a litle towards the end. Other than that I really like this story

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dick Whittington and his Cat” is a Caldecott Honor Book by Marcia Brown that is about how a poor boy named Dick Whittington has his life changed when he buys a cat to get rid of some troublesome mice. “Dick Whittington and his Cat” is a charming book that children will love for many years.

Marcia Brown has done a terrific job at both illustrating and writing this book. Marcia Brown gives the story a dramatic and depressing tone as the reader can feel Dick’s pain whenever he is mistreated by the cook and when he has to give up his best companion. Also, Marcia Brown makes Dick into a truly sympathetic character as he goes through many obstacles during his life, but always tries to stay positive, no matter how poor his situation is. Marcia Brown’s illustrations are beautiful and creative as she uses mainly black, white, and golden colors to illustrate her images and the characters and buildings in the story seem to be cut out of a cardboard but are two dimensional.

Parents should know that there are a couple of passages in the book describing about how the cook would abuse Dick for no reason and there is one image that shows the cook hitting Dick with a broom. This scene of abuse might upset children who do not like violence or abuse and parents might want to assure their children what the cook is doing to Dick in not right and that it is not nice to beat up someone just because that person displeases you.

“Dick Whittington and his Cat” is a brilliant book for children who are fans of English folktales and will be an instant favorite for many children for years to come. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the length of the book is a bit long and smaller children might not be able to handle the scenes of violence between Dick and the cook.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've perhaps been poisoned by the internet because the first thing I thought when I picked up this book was "Oh no, it's about the Black-Eyed Children" (look it up).

OK, creepy illustrations aside, this bit of folklore has been around for literally centuries. The story is intriguing in that no one seems able to figure out how much is fact and how much fiction, much like Robin Hood and other such stories. Not entirely sure what the moral was or even if there was one. The picture of the rats in the bed is enough to give ME nightmares, then add to it the style of the pictures and it's definitely something that is not my favorite book in the Caldecott challenge.

On the other hand, the story isn't badly told. A little meandering and wordy, but not bad. It's certainly worth a look.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A poor young boy in London buys a cat known for being a good mouser. The cat helps not only the boy, but royalty both near and far and it is the cat's skills that make the poor young boy a rich man. Pictures are linoleum cuts. The story was just okay for me. I was rooting for the boy and the cat to be reunited, not for the cat to serve merely as the means for the boy to rise above poverty.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

Caldecott Honor 1951 - I am not even rating this. I think a 1 star would be too much. It is going to be slow going for the next several decades of Caldecott Honor Picture books.

[Dustyloup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming woodblock illustrations bump it up to 4*, otherwise the story is ok. It definitely feeds into the myth that you too can get rich (be it a landholder or a capitalist it's all the same, n'est-ce-pas?) with a little hard work, luck, and sacrifice à la Horatio Alger.
But cat lovers will appreciate just how hard it would be to give away one's cat and will probably feel that the reward was just! :)

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor Book, 1951

Dick Whittington and His Cat is told and cut in linoleum.

Favorite illustration: page 8 (it is creepy)

This line made me laugh out loud: "Here the cook saw him, and being an ill-natured hussy, she called out, 'On your way there, lazy rouge, or would you like a scalding to make you jump'"

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor 1951

This book's illustrations are done with linoleum cuts, thus, all the illustrations are three-toned in brown, white and black. The story itself is similar to Cinderella, but in this case, it is a boy who goes from rags to riches and has the happy ending.

[Laura5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The part I liked best was imagining creating the lino cut illustrations.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a while ago...krb 2/17

[Mohammad Tosar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a bloke and his cat making moolah. Capitalism at its bare bones.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of this book until I picked it up for the Caldecott Challenge. The book won a 1951 Caldecott Honor, and I thought it had a fabulous story. Dick Whittington is an orphan who travels to London to seek his fortune, but it does not work out like he planned. He ends up working for a wealthy merchant, gets no sleep because of all the mice and rats that run over his bed, and is beaten by the cook. He gets a cat named Miss Puss for a penny and she helps him sleep by taking care of the mice and rats. One day as the merchant's ship is about to sail, Dick gives Miss Puss to the merchant for trade. The ship lands on the coast of North Africa, where the king's palace is being overrun by vermin. In trade for lots of gems and gold, the ship's captain gives the king and queen Miss Puss, who promptly takes care of their problem and she ends up staying with them. Dick is very rich after the expedition and ends up marrying the merchant's daughter and becoming the Lord Mayor of London. I loved the cut linoleum illustrations, which made the story seem more rustic and old-fashioned, like the Medieval/Renaissance time period the book was set in. Highly recommended for ages 4-8, 5 stars.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the good old days, when cats actually worked for a living.

This is a fable retold by Marcia Brown. Basically the story boils down to a poor kid who moves to London and gets a job in the kitchen of the merchant. The cook treats him cruelly. He buys a cat. Then the merchant says, "Hey, servants, I'm sending a ship to a foreign country. Everybody pick something to trade." Dick goes, "I don't have anything except this cat," and they go, "Okay, we'll take the cat," and he goes, "No!" But they send it anyway. The people on the ship end up in Barbary, which apparently has a huge rodent problem and is unfamiliar with cats and spends a bajillion dollars on it and Dick becomes rich and eventually becomes the Lord Mayor of London. Whatever.

Weird. I don't even know what it's trying to say. The illustrations look like woodcuts, which is kind of cool. It's super wordy for young kids (actually, in general, really). It's a boring story with no real point to it, retold in a very authentic way, which means that it includes a bunch of words that nobody really cares about.

Message: Hope you're really lucky, cause otherwise you're life's gonna really suck!

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Rebecca Tenbrook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I chose this book because it was a Caldecott winner and because it was a realistic tale and I wanted to read more of those types of traditional tales. I am going to be honest, I did not like this book. I was not interested in the reading at all and I don't know how kids of the 21st century would be interested in it as well. Now this book was written in 1950 and the language in this book is fairly easy to follow along with, it does incorporated some old English language that even I had a hard time understanding what words meant. Now with being written in 1950 maybe this book at one time would have been a great tool for the classroom, I think in today's classroom it would be outdated. I am curious as if there is a updated modern story similar to this one. I think the theme in the book is a good one for students to hear and I think it could be used for quality discussions but I would really want a more updated book to do that with.

[Rachel Hatcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary
This book was about a boy named Dick Whittington who had nothing but his cat. One day he got to visit London for the first time, but wandered around and got lost. The rest of the story involves his journey after meeting a wealthy merchant, giving away his cat for good luck to a cargo ship, having a hard life with a mean cook, but then getting gold from a successful China trip and becoming Lord Mayor of London.

Evaluation
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because the story had an engaging plot and was very different than any stories I have read before. I thought the characterization and events of the story were also very interesting.

Teaching Point
This would be a wonderful book for teaching students about fairy tales. This book is an English Fairy Tale. Students would definitely enjoy the story and be exposed to different cultural language/events that occurred from a long time ago.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little tale, somewhat of a Cinderella story for boys. The young lad offers up his only possession, a cat, and in the end has more love, money and power than he could ever hope for. The illustrations by Marcia Brown are terrific linoleum cuts using only the colors of white, black and dull gold. We enjoyed reading this book together, but I have to admit that our tender soul (old oldest) cried and cried when the story was over because the little boy never sees his little cat again and that just broke her heart.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always impressed to know that there are people out there who can cut images like the ones in this book out of linoleum. As someone who can't cut a straight line with a pair of scissors, I am in total awe of artists whose talents require so much precision and focus. That said, aside from the interesting method of creating the pictures, this book didn't really resonate with me. I think there is something to be said for the message, that loving something and setting it free brings with it great rewards, but otherwise, I wasn't all that entertained.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is so familiar, and yet I think this is the first time I read the story. I was intrigued so I did an internet search and learned that this is an old English tale (the earliest version dating to about 1600), which is supposedly based on a merchant named Richard Whittington who was born about 1354 and died in 1423. As would be expected, the tale is more fiction than fact.

Note: The cat is not portrayed as being a pet. When Dick Whittington parts with it, he worries about the return of mice, not the loss of a friend.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

• 1951 Caldecott Honor Book •

I feel like I read this when I was younger, but I don’t remember which version. I enjoyed the story, but that mustard yellow color is terrible. I’m guessing it’s supposed to look like gold, but it doesn’t. I admire the talent it took create the linocuts, but it doesn’t appeal to me much. The front cover is disturbing to me and I realized it wasn’t just the yellow color, it’s also that Dick’s eyes are black orbs. Kind of creepy looking.

Materials used: linoleum cuts
Typeface used: unlisted

[Emily Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dick Whittington and His Cat because it is ver imaginable. Young children could picture this story in their mind and relate to it or be able to see what and why things were done. This story is about a young boy who does not have and parents. He is poor and works for a rich merchant and eventually sells his cat to become wealthy.

This is considered a folktale because it is easy told by word of mouth and there is no book necessary. It also is not told as a fact, and it includes flat characters who we do not have much background on.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the linoleum prints with their thick black outlines, but I don't like the ugly ochre color used to highlight the prints. The legend surrounding Richard Whittington's childhood is well written and very interesting, even if it is not exactly true. The illustrations reflect the action of the story and the ill-treatment of poor Dick by the cook. It would have been nice if Brown could have used more colors in her illustrations, but perhaps that would have been too expensive to produce.

[Taylor Machado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dick Whittington and His Cat is a cute folk tale about a poor boy who buys a cat to get rid of mice. The cat changes the boys life, the boy sells his cat to a king who gives him a great fortune for the cat. In the end of this story Dick marries a girl named Alice and becomes a lord. I liked this book but I was sad to see that Dick and his cat parted ways.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The linocuts Brown uses to illustrate this well-known British story capture well the feel of a medieval story. Like Puss In Boots, the cat proves to be the step-up needed by the boy who has little chance on his own, although in this case, the cat is merchandise rather than a shrewd assistant.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really cannot imagine reading this book aloud to young readers today- - readers who are accustomed to Klassen & Peter Brown.

Perhaps there will be some who would pour over it as I did-especially during our Mock Caldecott.

I appreciated the illustrations immensely, and see this book in a different light as it is a Caldecott study to me.

[SamZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor 1951; Favorite Illustration: near the end when Dick and Alice are talking under the tree.
A traditional English tale of a young boy who makes his fortune by being a hard worker and (luckily) befriending a cat.
This was a cute story, and I appreciated the artistic merit of the pictures, but they just weren't my favorite thing.

[Jasmine Stocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of Dick Whittington and His Cat is great for children because with each paragraph there is a beautiful illustration to accompany it. It's a simple version but it doesn't leave any parts out. I enjoyed that this book was humorous but some vocabulary might be difficult for students to read. Possibly read as a group and discuss the different vocabulary.

[Matt Guendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a pretty good book I thought the pictures could of been better for kids. Its a good story rags to riches story about a poor boy who becomes a lord thanks the the help of his cat that has crazy abilities. Its a pretty fast read. All in all it was one of the better picture books I read