Summary: One day, in Japan, an artist felt very hungry awaiting his housekeeper to return home from the market. When she does not bring food, but a cat, he is furious. The housekeeper explains that she is kept awake by rats and has brought the cat to fix the problem. The artist is upset but thinks that the cat will bring good luck since the cat is 3 colored and decides to keep him. One morning, a Priest requests a painting of their Lord Buddha to be put in the temple for all to see. The artist was so excited to finally gain some recognition and good fortune. The artist wanted to include animals and so he considered an elephant, horse, buffalo, dog, Banyan deer, monkey, and tiger all which exhibited the spirit of Buddha. There were many animals in the painting except the cat, good fortune, who longed to be included in the picture. The artist refused to draw good fortune in the picture in fear that the Priest would not accept it. Good fortune was not an animal that was blessed by the Buddha. After careful consideration, the artist decides to draw a cat in the portrait regardless of what people thought. He risked his entire salary and fame for a cat he had come to love. Just as the Priest had told the artist that the painting would be destroyed on the account of the cat, a miracle had happened. The painting had changed. Instead of the Buddha reclining with his arms folded, he was not reaching for the cat gesturing his blessing.
Citation: Coatsworth, E. (1958). The cat who went to heaven. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Impressions: The one thing that I enjoyed about this book was the small songs that were featured after each chapter. The songs of the housekeeper were very wise and added some insight into the situations. I enjoyed the moral of the story as well. Even though the artist was poor, he risked everything for his cat that he came to love. The cat really did end up giving him good fortune and the name was rightfully appropriate. I liked that the drawings looked like old prints. They resembled stamps and were very detailed. I see a lot of cat symbols in Buddha art so this was a fun story as to how those images and the relation came to be.
Reviews:
A charming legend of a Japanese artist, his cat, and a Buddhist miracle. Newbery Medal winner, 1931.
Published: April 1999 Updated:
A charming legend of a Japanese artist, his cat, and a Buddhist miracle. Newbery Award, 1930.
Published: July 1998 Updated:
When a poor Japanese artist paints his little white cat into a picture of the dying Buddha, he lets his pet into heaven. John Newbery Medal, 1931. Recommended.
Published: July 1998 Updated:
A little cat comes to the home of a poor Japanese artist and, by humility and devotion, brings him good fortune.
Published: January 2011 Updated: January 2011
A cat looks on as her master, a poor Japanese artist, works on a painting commissioned by a high priest. The artist must paint all the animals blessed by Buddha except cats, which have been excluded from paradise. Despite the risk, the compassionate artist decides to include a cat in his painting and is rewarded. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.
Published: July 2008 Updated: July 2008
All reviews retrieved from Bowker Book in Print.
Suggestions: This story takes place in Japan so I was thinking that it could go with an around the world theme. It could be used in ancient stories or legends and grouped with others of that same theme.
Summary: Philip Marsham has set foot on his journey to leave England. Along the way he picks up fellow companion Martin and meets a man called the Old One. They are informed that the Old One has requested their skills on a ship called the Rose of Devon. The Rose of Devon gets seized by pirates who are surprisingly led by the Old One. The two boys are trapped on the Rose of Devon with pirates. The pirates are not your everyday pirates. They are filled with evil and murderous intentions. The captain, Old One, promises Philip wealth and riches if he stays with the crew, Philip accepts only reluctantly. The pirate crew invades many ships but don’t retrieve much from their conquests. After the death of his friend Will, Philip escapes the pirate ship and finds himself seeking help from a nearby British warship. The warship seizes the pirate ship and all are sent to trial, including Philip. Even though Philip pleads that he was against being on the pirate ship he doesn’t testify against them. The Old One sees this as a sign of courage and honor and tells the jury that Philip was held against his will. Philip is the only way let go. Philip continues his life and after years of battle with Sir John Bristol decides to return to Bideford after his death. It is there that he sees The Rose of Devon on the harbor. Philip asks Captain Hosmer if he can accompany him when it sets sail to the colonies. Suspicious of his motives, Captian Hosmer agrees to take him except they were headed to Barbados. Philip provides him with gold and takes his second journey on the Rose of Devon in a time when he needed it the most.
Citation: Hawes, C.B. (1971). The dark Frigate. Boston: An Atlantic Monthly Press Book.
Impressions: I think that this story was extraordinary. I did a little research and found out that this was the second book by Hawes and it would be his last. I felt like Philip has experienced so much in his young life that there was still another chapter. It ended with me feeling like I needed more. I wanted to find out how his second voyage turned out and where he would go the rest of his life. Sailing was all he knew. It was very emotional for me also when the Old One, Tom Jordan, confirmed that Philip was merely a prisoner and not a part of their pirate crew. He even sold out Joe Kirk to the jury which added a little comedic relief when Joe denied it. I also enjoyed the small drawings at the beginning of each chapter. They were simple and in black and white but it helped when imagining scenes and characters.
Reviews:
| From School Library Journal | |
| Gr 7 Up-In 17th century England, an accident forces orphaned Philip Marsham to flee London in fear for his life. He signs on with the Rose of Devon, a dark frigate. When the ship is seized in by a devious group of men, Philip is forced to accompany these "gentleman of fortune" on their murderous expeditions. Haives, C.B. (2010). Review. School Library Journal. Library Journals LLC. Retrieved from Bowker Books in Print. |
Suggestions: This book could be worked into a pirate lesson plan. I don’t think that this book is a part of any curriculum but it could be a part of the library’s lesson plan. Lists of books could be sent out in fun print out each week with a theme. Students could find these fun reads and refer to others that revolve around this same theme.
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