Fog Cat

Great book for any cat lover author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

This is a wonderful and touching story. The gentle illustrations really give you a feeling of being in the small rural fishing town in which the story takes place. My three-year-old, cat-loving daughter was so entranced by the pictures that she sat as still as a statue as she listened, although there were considerably more words-per-page than she is used to. One caveat--if you have a tendency to get choked up when reading sad books, (or if your children tend to get upset by sad books) preread this before reading it to your children or giving it to them to read.

As an elementary school teacher, I have used this book in many different types of reading workshops with a variety of students. Students of all ages respond to this story with a mix of delight, emotion and wonder. It is a fabulous way to generate a discussion, or to engage the students in a personal exploration of opinions, feelings or reflections. I highly recommend this book to adults, teachers, parents, children young and old - you will not be disappointed!!!

Author Marilyn Helmer and illustrator Paul Mombourquette have rendered a minor masterpiece in Fog Cat. Helmer weaves a tale of Hannah, her Grandfather, and elusive cat they spot on the seashore one day. Through persistence and patience, Hannah slowly wins the confidence of this feral cat, drawing her at last into the home she has come to share with her Grandfather. The day-to-day simple lives of this trio, bound together by love and necessity, is revealed not only by Helmer's choice verbal depictions but also by Mombourquette wonderful illustrations. His delivers exactly the right tone for the story, matching image to words seamlessly, capturing the warmth of the home and the rugged misty beauty of the seascape.The story ends with Fog Cat's unexplained disappearance, but Hannah does have left the sole surviving kitten from a litter. Helmer neatly bookends the beginning and ending of her story, neither explaining why Hannah has come to live with her Grandfather, what happened to her parents or her Grandmother at the start or resolving what happens to Fog Cat.