Pussy Willow

by Margaret Wise Brown

This classic Golden tale is now available, for the first time ever, in a collectible hardcover edition. No library is complete without this beloved Little Golden Storybook.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Cats, Classics, Animals

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So first and foremost and indeed for me a huge and problematic issue of actually quite personally epic proportions, in her originally published in 1951 picture book Pussy Willow, Margaret Wise Brown is quite obviously (and also seemingly absolutely joyfully and with total favourableness) textually describing and expanding on an entirely outside (and thus of course likely also feral) cat. And since books (both for children and for adults) that attempt to in any manner positively depict and celebrate feral cats absolutely do seem to make me profoundly furious and livid (considering the huge environmental impact which in particular feral domestic felines often tend to cause and especially with regard to the vast and horrible numbers of perching songbirds hunted and destroyed by them on a yearly and continuous basis), I do have to (and also quite readily so) admit that I kind of majorly ended up emotionally and hugely despising Pussy Willow right from page one.

Furthermore and with this in mind, neither the fact that Margaret Wise Brown's featured text as it appears in Pussy Willow has actually been sweetly descriptive (with young kitten Pussy Willow's explorations of his environment and the seasons reading engagingly even if sometimes a trifle repetitively) nor that Leonard Weisgard's accompanying artwork has been a visually lush and delightfully green-hued aesthetic pleasure will in any manner mitigate my personal anger at the favourable and sometimes almost laudatory description (and visual representation) of a feral cat, with my ranking of Pussy Willow by necessity being no more than two stars because of this scenario (since yes indeed, I am so very very much and adamantly totally against and opposed to feral cats and therefore also not willing to positively rate any book that either makes light of feral felines or makes them appear as something agreeable and unproblematic, no matter how much I might have in fact enjoyed what has been written and what has been illustrated, as I do very strongly believe that we need to actively fight against how outside and feral cats are often being with way too much flattery and agreeability depicted and especially so in books geared towards younger readers, and in my humble opinion with Pussy Willow certainly being an absolutely negatively so glaring example thereof).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the first page, I love the idea that the kitten (Pussy Willow)names himself. I also liked how the answer to the question is, "Everything that anyone would ever look for is____________," with each animal giving an answer unique to their own view of the world.

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Christmas gift in the very large Golden Book edition, with wonderful illustrations by Leonard Weisgard. Like most books by MWB, it's sweet, tender and endearing.

[Shanna_redwind · Rating 5 out of 5]

"But the cabbage just sat there in its great green silence and never said a word."

I loved this book as a kid, and I'm reading the same large Golden book to my kids that I had read to me as a child.

Leonard Weisgard's illustrations made the book for me as a child. There was so much to look at in them, aside from the central theme of each page. That they wrapped around the text only made it better for me.

As an adult, the imagery and poetry of the words gives me pleasure when I read the book to my kids.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pussy Willow has deservedly been loved since its 1951 debut. Leonard Weisgard's gorgeous old-fashioned illustrations perfectly pair with Margaret Wise Brown's words, creating a narrative of uncommon elegance that smoothly transitions to a satisfying conclusion.

[Dale Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother read it to me, and I read it to my son. Not only is it a wonderful story, it has to be one of the most beautifully illustrated children's books I have ever encountered. If you don't have a copy, find one.

[Mckinley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think it had a good germ of an idea but over all, not so much.

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very charming, not very deep, teaching the wheel of the year, ending, delightfully, with the line "Everything that anyone would ever look for is usually where they find it." But I get grumpy about outdoor cat narratives even if they were published in 1951, and this doesn't have enough to counterbalance in my eyes.

Weisgard illus. 1951 are much more saturated and dark, with a bold graphic quality. Bosson illus. 1997 is pastel, cute, a little wonky, stylistically reminiscent of Home for a Bunny, and the text is edited from the original. It's a simplification (compare: "Time passed: hours and minute and nights and days. And Pussy Willow grew more fur." (1951) vs "Nights passed and days passed and Pussy Willow grew more fur." (1997)) and cuts down on the number of encounters with other creatures. I don't mind the latter so much, as it makes for an easier read for a young audience, but MWB's voice is so much more distinctive in the original; the rewrite lacks detail and character.

[Merja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tässä kevään saapumisesta kertovassa ihanassa tarinassa seikkailee Pajunkissa, suloisin kissa ikinä. Suosikkini Tammen kultaisista kirjoista vuodesta toiseen. <3

[Denise Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story by the well-known children’s author takes us through the seasons with a little kitty. Nice illustrations by Leonard Weisgard add to the effect.

[Bec · Rating 1 out of 5]

This version has been edited and condensed from the earlier one. It's no where near as enjoyable.

[Jana Henderson (Reviews from the Stacks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how much I love this book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pussy Willow says, "Everything that anyone would ever look for is usually where they find it."

[Serena]

Los dibujos más lindos de los que leí hasta ahora mal lejos lejísimos

[Anni · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Se mitä etsii on siellä, mistä sen löytää” (mahtava, uus mottoni)

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little story. I have an older edition from 1951 (my grandmother gave it to my kids because she loved it) and the illustrations remind me of books from my childhood. The story reminds me of my grandmother, who loved her cats and her garden.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fantastic for talking to kids about the seasons and the changing world -- though I don't think Pussy Willow ever catches on, it'd be a neat book for seeing if any of the kids can. I enjoy the idyllic glimpse of nature we're presented all through Pussy Willow's quest. I also like how each animal talks about where he would find things he's looking for. Again, this could inspire so much thinking and conversation. Lovely!

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I always skipped reading this book, but as an adult I enjoy it, especially since I can now appreciate that it is written by Margaret Wise Brown (she wrote Good Night Moon). It is a longer book for reading aloud, but still a good one. Pussy Willow is a kitten who slowly learns about the changes in the seasons.

[BobbieJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my all time favorite book as a child! I read it over and over. My only wish is that the publishers would put it on ebook format so a new generation of children will have it to enjoy forever.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books from childhood. I have the fondest memories of reading and re-reading this book at my grandmother's house. The pictures are so vivid and enticing and make you yearn to explore the world the way Pussy Willow does. Highly recommended!

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, am I ever a city slicker. I don't recall ever seeing pussy willow, and this whole exploration of nature thing seems really really remote. Wonder if she's written one about the changing seasons of apartment buildings' potted plants?

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight up love Pussy Willow

[Cheyenne]

REad this every night before I went to bed for the first seven years of my life!

[K.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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