Anton and Cecil, Book 1

September 16, 2013
Feline brothers Anton and Cecil have different ideas about how life should be lived. “Don’t be a chicken, be a cat. Be adventurous!” cries Cecil. “But every cat couldn’t be like Cecil. And every cat didn’t need to hear about it,” thinks Anton. Cecil loves to befriend fishermen and steal rides on boats, while fastidious Anton prefers to listen to music at the local saloon and nap. As (bad) luck would have it, Anton is abducted and brought aboard a barque, the Mary Anne, as a ratter. Cecil is one step behind on the Leone, determined to save his brother, and they use their wits to survive while making unlikely animal allies. Adult author Valerie Martin (Property), writing with her niece Lisa, make their children’s book debut with a quaint mix of adventure and legend. While some characters’ appearances are fleeting and a mysterious event toward the end of the book goes unexplained, the story is rich with seafaring vocabulary and nautical adventure. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Author agent: Molly Friedrich, the Friedrich Agency.

September 1, 2013
This collaboration by a respected author of literary fiction and her niece, an educator and writer of poetry for children, is an odd mix of talking cats, oceangoing adventure and mystical events. Slender, gray Anton and large, black Cecil are not much alike, but, readers are told, the brothers love one another and enjoy their mostly peaceful life as stray cats in a seaside town. Pensive Anton enjoys listening to the sailors singing in the local saloon; adventurous Cecil prefers to pace along the dock, seeking sustenance and occasionally spending a day on board a fishing boat. Their low-key lives change dramatically when Anton is taken to sea against his will, and Cecil sets out to find him and bring him home. The plot is carefully woven, the vocabulary rich and distinctive, and the characters engaging (particularly Hieronymus, a hilariously loquacious mouse). Unfortunately, the overall effect is confusing rather than charming. The decision not to explain a key turning point may leave readers perplexed and even troubled, while other details fall just a bit too short of the fantastic to seem truly magical or rely on exceedingly unlikely coincidences. Cat lovers will be sorry to see Anton and Cecil suffer indifference and outright abuse from sailors and pirates, as well as facing other dangers, but they're still not likely to care overmuch about the eventual resolution. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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September 1, 2013

Gr 4-6-Two cat brothers who live on a busy dock couldn't be more different. Anton is thoughtful, cautious, and content with his life, particularly when he is able to listen to the music of sailors in the local taverns. Cecil is impulsive, curious, and keen to have an adventure aboard one of the many ships that sail in and out of the port every day. All the local cats live under the threat of being impressed to hunt rats and mice. Many who are seized are never seen again. So when Anton is snatched and taken aboard a huge ship, Cecil boards another vessel in order to find him and bring him home. Separated on a vast ocean, the brothers have adventures beyond their wildest dreams as they seek to be reunited with the help of a mysterious cat eye in the sky. The story is well paced with descriptive language that firmly places readers in the midst of dangerous storms, sea battles, and islands full of strange animals. The legend of the eye that watches over cats at sea adds an interesting supernatural element, though a scene in which all of the humans on one of the ships vanish will have readers scratching their heads in confusion. Nevertheless, children who like animal fantasies such as Avi's Poppy (Scholastic, 1995) will find much to enjoy here.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Grades 3-7 Brother cats Anton and Cecil, along with their friend Gretchen, each encounter unexpected adventures when they leave their home on the eighteenth-century Lunenburg waterfront and board separate ocean-bound ships. Adventurous Cecil first boards a fishing boat and then, when Anton is catnapped to serve as a ratter aboard a schooner, stows away on a clipper to pursue his brother. Gretchen, too, is taken unwillingly and finds herself aboard a pirate ship. Eloquent and accessible, this well-paced story moves from cat-perspective to cat-perspective as the three eventually meet again and find their way home to safety. The strong, distinct personalities of cats, people, and a handful of other creatures make this a delightful tale, even for readers who aren't cat lovers, and Murphy's occasional black-and-white illustrations are a pleasant complement to the story. In addition to being an excellent choice for read-alouds, the Martins' vivid descriptions of seafaring lifecatcentric wisdom asidemay invite further exploration into maritime tales and history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)