Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill

Title: Jenny and the Cat Club
Author: Esther Averill
Publisher: NYRB Children’s Collection
ISBN: 978-1590170472
Genre: Children’s Books, Children’s Fiction
Pages: 176
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 Stars

This is an adorable book which all cat lovers and non-cat lovers must also read. What else do I say about this? Esther Averill successfully created a series about Jenny Linski, the cat and her friends, when cats weren’t that hipster. This book, “Jenny and the Cat Club” is the first in the series of many cat books written by Esther and I so intend reading all of them – one after the other.

Being the first book, it introduces readers to Jenny and how she became a part of the cat club. It is about her life with her owner known as the captain. She is an orphaned black cat with her trademark red scarf. The book is set in Greenwich Village.

It is one of the most endearing books I’ve read in a very long time. The stories are old-fashioned for sure, and yet there is this enduring charm about them that makes you want to be in that place and experience the way those stories turned out.

Esther never used too many words to tell a story. Brevity was the key and one can see work itself beautifully in these stories. I cannot resist but mention the illustrations. They are simple and beautifully drawn by the author herself. Hence the personal touch and the knowing of how each cat will look. What makes the book so wonderful is the presence of so many cats. You just want them to keep conversing and know more about the mysterious cat world.

I am so glad I ordered this book and read it. I am glad I stumbled on it and I recommend every parent to buy this book and read it to their children. Your child will love you for it and you will love introducing something new to your child.

The Robber Hotzenplotz by Otfried Preussler

Title: The Robber Hotzenplotz
Author: Otfried Preussler
Translated by: Anthea Bell from German
Publisher: NYRB Children’s Collection
ISBN: 978-1590179611
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Pages: 128
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 Stars

I steer clear from most children’s fiction. I don’t know why but that has always been the case – more or less. There are some books though that catches my fancy and I happened to literally bump into “The Robber Hotzenplotz” by Otfried Preussler online and couldn’t resist getting my own copy (on request from publisher) and I was more than pleasantly surprised by the book.

The story is simply told. The plot is of two boys – around eight or nine year olds – who are best friends – Kasperl and Seppel and of the robber Hotzenplotz who works very hard to hide in the woods and wait for his next victim. His next victim happens to be Kasperl’s grandmother, who he attacks and steals her coffee mill. The boys then head out to rescue the mill from Hotzenplotz and find themselves in the midst of one adventure after another.

Preussler’s writing is funny – in the sense not only for children but also for adults. The translation by Anthea Bell is simple and works with every single turn of the page. The illustrations are magnificent and won’t let go of you that easily. I loved the simple and yet so human like illustrations.

To me the book was a breeze of a read and will be the same for you. I was just wondering also of the numerous tales that we do not pay attention to, either because we aren’t familiar with them or because our culture doesn’t expose us to them. NYRB Children’s Classics plans to change that I hope with the publication of such classics that more children will read from different countries and know more. I know, I for one will lap them all.

“The Robber Hotzenplotz” is a funny read for both children and adults and I highly recommend this one.