Moving

by Michael Rosen, Sophy Williams (Illustrator)

A cat offers a feline view of life, a life that becomes suddenly upset by the trauma and discomfort of moving into a new house. By the author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Genres: Animals, Picture Books, Poetry, Cats

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’M NUMBER ONE and THIS IS OUR HOUSE, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Kimberly Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

My perspective of this book is that it brought out strong emotions of sadness as the book progressed.

This is a story about a cat who does the same routine each day, other people in the house notice the cat but do not pay much attention to it, next the cats routine does not change much but the other members of the house become very busy boxing and packing up everything in the house ready to move house, but they had no time for the cat. As the book progresses the house becomes more and more empty due to the fact that all of the items in the house were slowly being moved somewhere elae but the cats daily routine still did not change. Then as the cat thought that it was going to get some attention things got worse as the cat got put in a cat cage to be taken to the new house with the family members, but the cat did not like the cage one bit, showing distress and uncertainty until the cage opened again. Next the cat runs away and finds a place to hide in the new house so that no-one will ever be able to find it again, the words in the book from my perspective implies that the cat wants the family members to be worried and want them to look for the cat so that it can feel loved and wanted by them. In the end the cat smells some food that it likes and comes out of its hiding space, to everyone's relief they look after the cat and they all end up very happy.

The book uses the literature structutre of a poem format on each page and repetition to make sure that the implied reader is continually reminded of what is going on. The use of repetition can also be a way of showing their hurt or irritation to something, which for this book would make sense as the cat is feeling hurt, unwanted and irritated that no- one is paying attention to it.

The book is taken from the perspective of the cat talking which to me could be a hidden meaning of the author telling the implied reader about a situation that they may have experienced themselves, demonstrated through the character of a well liked animal in the story (by various age groups as children love animals and is a more of a child friendly approach to discuss a sensitive topic) where at times they may have felt neglected or unloved but then in the end they found love, comfort and happiness.

The facial expressions of the characters in the story are all appearing to look very sad until right at the very end on the last two pages where everyone looks happy, which could link to the idea of everything not being so good to start with but once the family realised they had lost the cat which deep down they loved, the relief of finding the cat and having the family back all together created the scense of happiness.

The title in itself i think has a hidden meaning as it is called 'Moving' and this book to the implied reader gives you a sense of emotionally moving, could also be linked to time as it could be talking about a time where lots of things were going on and happening all at once.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has lovely illustrations which help to tell the story of a family who moves house and takes their cat with them. However, the cat doesn't like moving - being trapped in a cage and taken away from home, feeling powerless and invisible. It has slight links to Six dinner Sid, but this book could be used to talk about moving house as some children may experience emotions similar to the cat if they don't want to move away themselves. It would be a good book to read with year 2 to year 4 and whilst it could be read as a class story, it would be great for either reading with an individual child or with a small group as they could talk about their own experiences or about the story and emotions involved.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who has every owned a cat this makes total sense. The book is told from the point of view of the family cat. The book is structured in the for of a poem, which makes the read feel slightly clunky. If you are going to read this to children I suggest that you take a couple of minutes to flick through the book to figure out how you are going to read it. I personally thought that the theme of 'Moving house' got lost in the in the story because of the story being told by the cat's perspective. This been the cat's continuing monolog though the book does make you empathise with the poor kitty and how it just's wants food and somewhere to lay down.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could totally imagine this cat as my cat when we moved.
He used to do the same things always, but everything was changing around the house. And when put in a "box" to be taken with the family, he felt betrayed. He wouldn't come out of his nowhere under no circumstances! But, of course this situation changes in the end.
The story is told in verses and in the point of view of the cat. I found it sweet! The illustrations are gorgeous!

[Sidhom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best children's books ever, great poetic quality of the book, and deep introspection into the world of moving through cat's perspective. Rhymes & meter add a lot to the depth of meaning expressed in simple language. Illustrations are equally beautiful and evocative. I'd highly recommend this book to children & adults.

[Luke Coles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring poem

[Anne with Violets · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s tough moving with a free-spirited cat but they have a happy ending.

[Jag · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is narrated from a cats point of view. It is easy to follow and poetic and good for discussion. The story is about a family moving house. The boy that lives there is upset because they are moving, as is his cat. If the decision is made to read this book at circle time, one must be aware of how it may effect the children I.e. know the children.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book as it seems to be mainly written in verse with rhyming couplets. It's a different style to what you usually find in picture books, and could be used when covering a poetry topic, as it's an alternative way of using poetry. It is also written in the perspective of a cat, not the boy, which is different.