Polo's Mother

Cat Pack #4

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

When his mother finally returns, Polo is taken aback by the harsh attitude of the woman he once knew and fears what has become of her, yet as he attempts to convince her to stay and settle in, he remains cautious about introducing her to his friends at the Club of Mysteries.

Genres: Cats, Childrens, Animals, Adventure

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.

Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.

Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."

By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.

Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.

Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.

Reviews

[King Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it highly entertaining how different Geraldine is front what people would have expected from Polo's (and Marco's, of course) mother. Who would have expected a "sassy, street-smart" grouchy old cat?

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what to think (this is the first I've read in the series). Geraldine was an awesome character - quite smart and took no crap. But everyone else was basically a jerk. Texas was a mean bully, the other cats just fell in with his plans even when they thought it was wrong, and the crow was preoccupied with eating everyone...Then there was Steak Knife and his gang. I mean, this is basically realistic as far as cats being assholes and crows eating carrion, but it was odd to read what might have been a sweet story with all these bloodthirsty bits thrown in

[Elizabeth Mussett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! Definitely recommend to cat lovers! Be sure to read The grand escape, the healing of Texas Jake, and Carlotta’s kittens before reading this. It makes more sense if you read in-order. Anyway, one of my favorite mini-series!

[Sashanique Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in the Cat Pack series and a great read aloud. Naylor captures the character of cats in a delightful way that is humorous, poignant, and always entertaining.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a cute story! I recommend!

[Devi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story. Some of the illustrations in this book were particularly good.

[Gabby Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was really good good good book. i loved the ending.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

My students absolutely loved this whole series! They begged me to read more as we finished our daily section. They even pretended to be the characters in their creative play during recess.

[Samisulsa beast · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Sarena Anderson]

amazing series