Priscilla's Paw de Deux

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“No flea-bitten mangy fur-ball of a watch-cat is going to stop me from
dancing!” declares Priscilla, an alley rat bitten by the ballet bug.
Priscilla wants to practice her steps but her apartment is too small.
She finds a dance studio in her neighborhood, but just when she thinks
she has found the perfect solution to her problems, she is furious to
discover that there is a cat on the premises. Her fairweather rat
friends are no help. No matter how nicely she asks, they will not risk
their lives distracting the cat while she dances. Priscilla decides to
fool the feline by practising before classes begin for the day, but
suddenly she

finds herself cornered by the scary beast—in leg-warmers.

This is the second terrific Priscilla the Rat collaboration between
Sharon Jennings and Linda Hendry. (The first, Priscilla and Rosy, was
published in 2001.) One of the delightful aspects about Priscilla is her
very secure rodent ego. When one of her fans declares, “Oh, Priscilla!
You are a beautiful dancer!” Priscilla’s reply is, “Yes, I am.”
Jennings and Hendry capture Priscilla’s outrageous antics like a
well-drilled dance team. Highly recommended.