Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Chapter by Chapter, where I receive opportunities to host Cover Reveals & Author Guest Features on behalf of the Indie Publisher Month9Books. I continue to welcome hosting another Indie Publisher: Rebelight Publishing of whom I love the stories by their Middle Grade & YA authors! I jumped at the chance to read this exciting novel for Middle Grade readers, as I am always seeking out light infused Children’s Lit which has a resounding story-line stitched together with a life lesson and/or a character who children can relate too as much as they can celebrate having found. For a bit of background on Rebelight Publishing, please read my anchour supplement on the top of my review for “Missing in Paradise”.
I received a complimentary copy of “To Catch A Cat Thief” direct from the publisher Rebelight Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Cats and a girl named Jorie:
I have loved cats since I was a toddler – they have been my favourite companion and best friend, save my beloved canine who passed when I was a middle grader. Cats have a cheeky way of viewing the world and they are quite a bit absolute in their approaches on how they communicate their emotions! You can never forsake knowing what a cat is thinking or trying to mew a bit of information they feel is necessary for you to noodle out in a code you haven’t found the decipher key! I champion cats all the time – both in literature and in real life; as I am an advocate for cat rescues and shelters who practice No Kill. All cats (truly all animals!) deserve compassionate care and attention; even the feral cats in my area are treated with respect. They are well fed and monitored medically, whilst being given the honour of safe-guarding the city from predators and pests.
I have never travelled far from being in the company of cats either – not that my own brood of felines would take kindly to a road trip, but what I referring too is the quirky way in which wherever my feet alight elsewhere there’s a cat round the corner who meows and sits near me. Cats are socially curious, at times a bit aloof to the point of being off-putting – they move and interact at a pace of time that suits them. You can never rush a cat! Yet, what I love the most about cats are their honesty and their level of understanding about their environments.
They are naturally curious and spend a great deal of time sorting things out; they become fascinated by things that we might not even consider worthy of pondering. Observationally I can never tire of watching a cat! To be surrounded by a pack of cats now, as they were four strong before one passed, from three different litters it’s been a true blessing to simply watch how they’ve tucked inside each other and formed a family. Part of the grace in knowing a cat is never being fully surprised by the unexpected!
To Catch A Cat Thief
Hundreds of cats are missing! Fear not-Penelope Ann Pickersgill and her hippie grandma are on the case. While her friends go to cool camps, twelve-year-old Penelope has to spend the summer with Grandma Bev, who is convinced that cat-eating aliens are beaming the town's furry friends aboard their mother ship at night. Lights in the sky point to UFO's, but Penelope is sure there's a more logical explanation.
With a little help from Sherlock Holmes, she and Grandma Bev set out to find the cats. Will they be able to solve the mystery before all the cats in Thornhill disappear?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780994839909
on 15th September 2015
Pages: 104
Published By: Rebelight Publishing, Inc. (@RebelightBooks)
Converse via: #ToCatchACatThief & #MGLit OR #CanLit
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Quirkified humour for Middle Graders:
As soon as you start to dig inside To Catch A Cat Thief you will start to know how quirky the humour is on behalf of it’s writer! To me, this is a true delight to find inside Middle Grade fiction – where the satire and humour is well-timed and bang on point for young minds! I have a disgruntled dislike of finding humour in Children’s Lit that is more akin for an adult to read than a child. Rebelight is proving the good nature of Children’s Lit is rooted in stories that focus on coming-of age innocence and under-sweeping the stories with a lightness of humour befit for any age as it’s seriously a heap of fun to read their stories!
My review of To Catch A Cat Thief:
Penelope Ann is quite convincing as a woeful middle grader whose been sent off to her grandmother’s whilst her parents whisk off to Europe over the Summer. In deference to her parents, they are hoping to reignite the missing romance within their marriage but for a girl whose inquisitive with an active mind for the modern age, being caught up in the world of her Grandma Bev is asking a bit much! For starters, she’s more hi-tech than lo-tech, doesn’t get the wicked cool factor of retro and has a keenly distrust of a cat whose territory she’s intruding! To begin a Summer on these terms isn’t exactly the best set-up in the world, but she’s charmed you with an inquisitiveness nature and an eye for noticing how her Grandma Bev’s lifestyle is a step outside the ordinary.
When Penelope Ann is introducing us to Grandma Bev’s personality, I had to smirk when Cummings made a reference to ‘Three Mile Island’ as I used to have a quirk of a response whenever someone would ask ‘how old are you?’ whilst I was growing up. Adults seemed to think that was the best icebreaker they invented when talking to children (at least the ones who were clueless about children and how to interact with them!); thus, I came up with a bit of a reply that took them off-guard: I’m as old as Three Mile Island! Hence why I was smiling to myself at this reference because the last year of the 1970s isn’t truly that far off from today’s century! Laughs with mirth.
I was delighted finding that her Grandma Bev was macrobiotic too, as I’m a herbivore trapped inside of a carnivore! I still remember quite fondly the macro-vegan veghead cafe tucked inside the backend of a new age shoppe that was quite wicked awesome to visit! The food not only nourished my spirit but fed my body with foods that were balanced and aligned to where indigestion wasn’t a word that existed anymore! Eating healthy is aces but seeing how an alternative lifestyle is viewed through the eyes of a twelve year old whose spunk hasn’t quite found it’s match within an adventure is quite entertaining!
Cummings added threads of our cultural and societal references of how our lives are being overtly muddled by things a bit out of our own control. Such as additives used in foods; media control on our televisions, and other such references that truly key children on what is a hot topic in today’s 21st Century world. It’s cross-related for both Canadian and American readers, as although we’re neigbhouring countries we’re clearing dealing with the same things that try to affect our lives and health. Cummings approaches talking about these topics in a way that is responsive and respectful to a young reader; I would imagine any reader would then ask their parent or guardian why these reflections on our society were included, etc. It’s a good gateway to discussion and I find I appreciate stories that incur a sense of conversation after a reading because it helps bring to life different points of view.
As Grandma Bev and Penelope Ann take up the case of the missing cats (as who wants to keep collecting all those posters throughout towne if you could find where the cats went?), Penelope Ann starts to notice that despite appearances to the contrary, her grandmother is one stellar awesome ace in her pocket! Grandma Bev teaches lessons to her grand-daughter in subtle ways, sometimes just by the way she includes her in conversation or analysis of a mystery. Grandma Bev wants to inspire Penelope Ann to develop a keen sense of awareness of her surroundings but also of her world; to conspire to think outside the perimeters of what is already known.
I was laughing out loud at the source of the mystery – mostly because it’s such an ingenious plot to create! Cummings gives you just enough red herrings to throw off your attention, and in the end, the reason behind the disappearances is quite bang-on brilliant to the inner core of the novel! He’s written it with a mindfulness of modern life, including how our everyday lives are being overrun with changes to our food chain and to our production of commodities. How clever then to tie-in this mystery with a larger scope of insight into how easily everyone can find themselves being affected by chemistry and greed?
Definitely would love to see the next adventure Grandma Bev and Penelope Ann embark on because as a sleuthing duo, they are each teaching each other something they wouldn’t have learnt otherwise if they weren’t together for the Summer!
On creating a cat-centred story for children:
The graphic art threaded throughout this novel is quite appealing for the cat lover as even the chapter graphics are quite smashing! When you first open the book itself there are claw scratches and a black paw right there under the title! Under the author’s name on the very next page is a silhouette of a cat! The graphics on the chapters are sporting a black cat with claws outstretched, marks visible and has this raised on hunches approach to greeting you! It’s quite catified and specific to showcasing the independence of cats sand their fortitude to understand friend from foe; clearly they are unsure which category the reader falls inside! Laughs. The chapter graphics alternate by the way!
I’m very grateful to Cummings to take his wife’s advice and to write a lighter story for a change! I’m all about sourcing light stories for children (as I archive my pursuit of them on my Children’s Lit page!) and how blessed was I to stumble across his quirky first novel of this kind? He left the window open for a sequel or even a duology; I will best keep my eyes peeled on Rebelight to see if he is charmed into writing the next installment as I think he’s onto something with this one! I also concur with his wife: there is enough darkness out there, let’s bring back the light!
I am especially grateful to Rebelight for offering to send out print editions which gave me the honour of reading my two titles by their publishing house! I cannot wait to see what they release next as I will most definitely be keeping my eyes out for more print releases as much as seeing which stories start to expand their catalogue of choices! Rock on, Rebelight!
Click through to follow the rest of the tour!
Previously I’ve happily read the following by Rebelight Publishing:
Missing in Paradise by Larry Verstraete
Wonder Horse by Anita Daher
I’m excited to share my next REBELIGHT tour will be for Hannah Both Ways!
This marks my third blog tour for Rebelight Publishing courtesy:
Reader Interactive Question:
What do you love about reading quirky humour knit inside of a story for Middle Grade? What wiggles your funnybone to the level of finding joy in curiously absurd? Do you like to read a mixture of light-hearted and deeply etched stories; or a preference for one or the other? What do you think is attractive to reading about cats in literature?
{SOURCES: Book Cover of “To Catch A Cat Thief”, the Chapter by Chapter badge, the Book Synopsis, Author Photograph of Sean Cummings and the Author Biography were provided by Chapter by Chapter and used by permission. Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Comment box badge created by Jorie in Canva. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.
I’m a social reader | I tweet as I read:
Small interlude today whilst #amreading To Catch a Cat Thief (#MGLit/#CanLit) + Blonde Eskimo (#YALit) before my return to #whoaretheclan :)
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) November 13, 2015
Ah, ha! This explains a few things @saskatoonauthor as #Whovian to Whovian would understand 'quirkified humour'! #amwriting my review today!
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) November 13, 2015
.@RebelightBooks #friday13th wicked sweet #fridayreads To Catch A Cat Thief @saskatoonauthor https://t.co/7ToMcb94tm pic.twitter.com/7nlKZN4fY8
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) November 13, 2015
Comments on Twitter:
We get reviews – and this is a very thoughtful one at that! https://t.co/dU2OEeQ7At
— Sean Cummings (@saskatoonauthor) November 13, 2015
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