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Guests | May 15, 2013
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Whittingtonby Alan Armstrong
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for–two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady. When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady’s a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it.
Bernie’s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can’t really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington’s cat–the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune. This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world. From the Hardcover edition. Synopsis:Refusing to take special classes in order to learn how to read, orphan Ben is given guidance by Whittington, a magical cat that lives in his grandmother's barn, who helps him appreciate the importance of such a skill through gentle persuasion and the telling of his great stories. A Newbery Honor Book & ALA Notable Book for Children. Reprint.
Synopsis:Whittington is a roughneck Tom who arrives one day at a barn full of rescued animals and asks for a place there. He spins for the animals—as well as for Ben and Abby, the kids whose grandfather does the rescuing—a yarn about his ancestor, the nameless cat who brought Dick Whittington to the heights of wealth and power in 16th-century England. This is an unforgettable tale about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling, and how learning to read saves one little boy.
About the AuthorAlan Armstrong started volunteering in a friend’s bookshop when he was eight. At 14, he was selling books at Brentano’s. As an adult, every so often, he takes to the road in a VW bus named Zora to peddle used books. He is the editor of Forget Not Mee & My Garden, a collection of the letters of Peter Collinson, the 18th-century mercer and amateur botanist. He lives with his wife, Martha, a painter, in Massachusetts.
From the Hardcover edition. Table of ContentsWhittington meets the lady — The animals in the barn — Bernie and how he got the horses — Abby and Ben meet the horses — The lady tells the barn about Whittington — The animals tell Whittington about themselves — Havey and the cat's surprise — The last day for baths — The lady asks Whittington to tell his story — The man Whittington named himself after — Dick's dream — Dick goes to London — Dick arrives in London — The boy goes to work for Fitzwarren — Ben's first reading lesson in the barn — Blackie arrives — Dick meets his cat — Out with the owls — Spooker is sick — Ben's reading — To Africa on the Unicorn — The registered letter — Ben's school principal visits the Texaco — Reading recovery — Dick sees a beautiful girl in black — Two newcomers join the barn — Dick's cat returns — A hawk attacks the lady — Ben goes to reading recovery and meets Miss O'Brian — The cat's operation — Dick meets Will Price again — Willy the goat's surprise — Dick sees the girl in black again — Marker raids the barn — Dick decides on the dangerous voyage — Ben's decision — A token for Mary — Gent arrives — A rescue — Dick's cat is lost at sea — Mary — Ben's triumph — Life in the barn continues — The last warm afternoon of Autumn.
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Children's » Animals » Animal Stories » General
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