Fog Cat

Joan Buchanan is a children’s writer and storyteller. She is the
author of Taking Care of My Cold!, What If I Were in Charge?, Nothing
Else But Yams for Supper!, and The Nana Rescue.

When Hannah first comes to live with her grandfather in a small outport
by the sea, she notices a stray cat. Despite her grandfather’s
warnings that the cat may not want to be tamed, Hannah patiently sets
about gaining the cat’s trust. (Hannah’s earthy, understanding
grandfather allows her to work things through for herself. There is no
back story about how or why Hannah came to live with her grandfather,
but none is needed.) She eventually succeeds and Fog Cat joins Hannah
and her grandfather for the winter. The following spring, Fog Cat goes
away, but she leaves behind something special for Hannah.

Helmer uses many effective similes; for example, she compares the
cat’s purr to “the engine of Grandpa’s old truck, rough and raspy
until it had been running awhile.” The story’s pacing is dynamic and
Mombourquette’s illustrations (pen-and-ink line drawings on watercolor
backgrounds) add texture, depth, and authenticity through such details
as the Formica table and the knitted brown tea cozy in Grandpa’s
kitchen. Highly recommended.