One of the first books on my
summer #bookaday reading list was the upcoming release, Sign of the Cat by Lynne Jonell. I grabbed it and headed to the pool just last
week.
Seeing as I got to the pool
when it opened, I had about thirty minutes of uninterrupted reading before the
first former student approached me. That was terrific because I got a good
grasp on the book so I could share its plot with the kids.
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Duncan lives in a fishing village with his mom and his cat. His dad passed away years ago and Duncan doesn’t know much about him. He longs to be himself, to do his best, but his mom has so many rules. He must wear a hat at all times, never stand out. He must not be a good swordsman, a good student. He needs to appear to everyone to just be average, or even below average. He must essentially be forgettable. Duncan, however, is anything but average. He is a smart student, an inquisitive boy, and has a talent that he hasn’t told anyone about – he can talk to cats. Yes, that’s right – he can talk to them in his own language, or even theirs. His own cat taught him years ago.
So Duncan and his mom
continue to live this quiet life until one day when he breaks his mother’s
rules and does his best on a test. This sets into motion a chain of events that
involve a journey at sea, a kidnapping, and a quest to discover who he truly
is. What an adventure.
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Sharing even the beginning of
the book at the pool with my students was comical. Several begged to borrow it
right then and there. (I had to tell them I would bring it back, I had to
finish it for this blog tour.) Many students told me they would come back later
and see where I would rank it among some of our favorites of the year (the
answer would be at the top.) And a few students began crafting their own ideas
for stories where they could talk to animals. This is a book that hooked them –
and me – from the beginning.
Luckily for my students, and
for you, there isn’t long to wait. Sign
of the Cat is released on Tuesday, June 16th. I hope you grab a
copy and journey into Duncan’s world. There you will meet some characters that
you won’t soon forget. What a fabulous book.
