Henry the Cat and the Big Sneeze

by Anne Rockwell

When Henry the Cat falls into a deep hole, his wits must get him out.

54 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry the Cat and the Big Sneeze by Anne Rockwell- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of Henry, a cat who is walking on the road while reading a book. As Henry is not looking at the road, he falls in a large deep hole on the side the hole. Henry makes an effort to jump out but each time he slips back to the bottom. Now, Henry plans a mode to move out of the hole. First to locate Henry in the hole is a duck. Henry informs her that in the book which he is reading, it is written the world is about to end and all must sit in this hole for survival and they must be able to sneeze. Duck is unable to sneeze still the duck jumps in the hole. Henry is aware that the duck is not so tall that he can sit on her back and jump out of the hole. Therefore, he waits for another helper. Second to arrive is a goat. She also jumps in the hole. Third is Sandra the cat. She is not afraid of Henry’s story so she moves away from the hole. Fourth is elephant. When the elephant jumps in after hearing Henry, he helps Henry get out of the hole along with the goat. Duck flies away. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a children’s book with a dark underside. You have to work out what the best thing to do is. Be selfish, deceiving and short sighted?
I think an adult needs to read this book with a young child to ensure the best/ right conclusion is got from it. Depending on the situation, also to follow up and end with a more straight forward positive book too.