The Cat Park

Ethel King-Shaw is a professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction at
the University of Calgary.

This story is about four stray cats living along the waterfront of
Vancouver near Stanley Park. The Lyons family moves into the
neighborhood and adopts the cats. While out walking on the beach, Mrs.
Lyons finds another cat being attacked by a seagull. She takes him home,
and a variety of adjustments have to be made to accommodate the new
family member. The new cat is soon playing in the flowers with the
others and learning how to leap, stalk, and box. The family of five cats
has a series of adventures—eating food scraps at a Thai restaurant,
quarreling with skunks, stealing fish at the market, chasing a moorhen,
visiting the aquarium and the zoo, and bringing home a tiger. In
desperation, Mr. and Mrs. Lyons each take up new occupations to service
the increasing needs of their growing family.

Animal lovers will appreciate the Lyonses’ compassion for the
homeless cats. Others will enjoy the mayhem created by these active and
mischievous animals. The words do not flow as smoothly as they might.
For some child readers, better transitions between certain episodes
would have been helpful. The colorful drawings reflect the humor and
action effectively. Recommended.