Catwings Return

Le Guin's fanciful creations, four kittens with wings, have been happily living in a barn, cared for by understanding humans. The kittens Harriet and James, however, miss their mother and decide to fly back to the city for a visit. Although they cannot find her at first, the two soon discover a black kitten with yellow eyes who has wings like their own. Le Guin's deep voice and absorbed reading style are just right for the material, and she's blissfully unhurried as she narrates the kittens' adventures. When she hisses the black kitten's fear ("hate--hate--hate!"), she captures a cat's nature while captivating listeners. Her gentle, careful voice once again casts a spell that will have listeners believing cats can fly. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

February 27, 1989
Identical in format and length to its predecessor, Catwings , this new book picks up where that one left off. The four winged catsThelma, Roger, Harriet and Jamesare content in the country barn where they live, secretly cared for by humans Hank and Susan. But they would like to see their mother, and the dumpster where they were born. Only James and Harriet make the trip, and learn that the slums are being destroyed by demolition crews. Their mother and the dumpster have moved; instead, they find a winged kitten. After a brief reunion with their mother, who now lives amidst flower pots on an apartment roof, all three felines go to the farm. Some of this repeats the first book, such as the absence of a father, the mother who bravely, and perhaps somewhat curiously, sends the children away to a better life, and the rather dull goodness of the human boy and girl. Le Guin's graceful writingespecially of the adventurous rescue of the new member of the family and in the roof sceneis sweetly illuminated by Schindler's delicately tinted drawings. A Richard Jackson Book. Ages 7-10.