Tabitha

by A.N. Wilson

Five episodes in the lives of Pufftail, father of many cats, his favorite daughter Tabitha the gray tabby, and the other cats of their neighborhood.

Genres: Cats, Picture Books, Childrens

Hardcover

First published May 24, 1990

About the author

Andrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views. He is an occasional columnist for the Daily Mail and former columnist for the London Evening Standard, and has been an occasional contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, The Spectator and The Observer.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute chapter book with illustrations about a kitten learning how to be a cat. (I didn’t realize that it’s the sequel to a YA novel Wilson wrote and that I happen to own, Stray, which is about Tabitha’s father, Old Pufftail.)

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

An imaginative chapter book about a tabby cat named Tabitha. The illustrations are completely amazing, capturing cats with incredible detail and realism.

The first story glosses quickly over the death of Tabitha's mother, who was hit by a car. Soon after, a neighborhood cat taunts the father by saying the kittens were drowned (they were not). Sensitive readers may find that a bit much.

The world is seen from Tabitha's perspective: the humans ("two-footers") have odd habits, but of course they center their whole lives around her and are delighted at everything she does, including pouncing on the roast chicken. One of the chapters introduces an outdoor pet, a guinea pig named Dolly, and the relationship between her and Tabitha is memorable and funny. This makes it a good read-aloud candidate, because adults will certainly find Tabitha's take on the human world amusing.

This is definitely one of those books a particularly imaginative child would read to the family cat, and spend hours watching it while imagining its inner life á la Tabitha.

[Icer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally got this since it was supposed the sequel to 'Stray', the author's earlier cat novel. This tuned out to be different however. It's not a text novel but a sort of picture book with short stories, and really for a younger audience, although it is a sort of sequel, since it does have the continued adventures of that character, their kitten, and also a story where they meet characters from another of the author's books I haven't read. This book thus has a sort of dual audience. It's a perfectly nice picture book for anyone who hasn't read the author's previous books, and also effectively bonus content if you wanted more of the characters.
The best thing about the book is, however, the illustrations. The artist is very talented and the pictures of the cats are amazing. I am a bit biased however since I also used to have a tabby and white cat and the pictures really remind me of her as a kitten. The artist managed to really capture what kittens are like and the pictures almost seem alive. The stories are cute enough but it's really the pictures that led me to give it a high rating.

[Wintermote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little animal story. My kindergartner loved hearing this read aloud.

[Antonomasia]

It can't have been this because the book already looked a bit old in the 80's - had a 70's looking cover which had a lot of yellow & brown tones & felt fragile. It was a children's story about a tabby cat (who was on the cover) and I'm sure the author was someone with initials (first name not shown) whose name I was used to seeing as a newspaper columnist and I was very surprised to see on a book for kids younger than I was. I only read it because of the author.

[lethe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review 1994:
Prachtig getekend.