{"id":2499,"date":"2023-03-31T11:41:32","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T22:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dnwfriends.nzl.org\/?page_id=2499"},"modified":"2023-03-31T16:25:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T03:25:17","slug":"friends-display-case-13-march-2023","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dnwfriends.nzl.org\/index.php\/friends-display-case-13-march-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends Display Case 13 March 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Numbered from top to bottom, left to right<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One: Feline Friends: Cats in Children\u2019s Literature \u2014 From the Dorothy Neal White Collection and the National Children\u2019s Collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People and cats have lived together for thousands of years, from the time when cats provided a rodent hunting service for early farming communities.
\nIn modern times our relationship with cats has developed into a much closer emotional bond. Although one of the cat\u2019s most notable characteristics is independence, they are devoted and trusting companions for their chosen humans. These children\u2019s stories range from the realistic to the fantastical, and their cat characters show some of our feline friends\u2019 most familiar traits: adventurousness, stealth, feistiness, opportunism and love of a cosy home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two: A story in rhyme about the clever, kind and comical deeds of a woman\u2019s seven cats. Among their many accomplishments are ice-skating, mending a carpet, singing, and taking care of a sick lamb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dame Wiggins of Lee and her seven wonderful cats: a humorous tale. Written principally by a lady of ninety ; edited, with additional verses, by John Ruskin ; and with new illustrations by Kate Greenaway, with twenty-two woodcuts.
\nLondon: George Allen & Unwin
\n1926 (first published: London: A.K. Newman & Co., 1823)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three: A quick-witted and clever cat contrives for his poor master, a miller\u2019s son, to end up living in a castle and marrying the king\u2019s daughter. Marcia Brown (1918-2015) completed both the translation and illustrations for this version of Puss in Boots. Brown is one of only two artists to have won three Caldecott Medals, and she also illustrated six Caldecott Honor Books, of which this is one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown, Marcia. Puss in Boots: a free translation from the French of Charles Perrault.
\nNew York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons
\n1952
\n(Caldecott Honor Book, 1953)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four: A fantastical creature who can appear and disappear at will, the Cheshire Cat is surely one of literature\u2019s most famous felines. To \u201cgrin like a Cheshire Cat\u201d was already a common phrase before Lewis Carroll used it as the basis for this character, but its exact origins are not clear. One of the most appealing theories is that, because of the number of dairy farms in Cheshire, the cats grin because there is so much milk and cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carroll, Lewis. Alice\u2019s adventures in Wonderland. Illustrated by John Tenniel.
\nLondon: Macmillan
\n1984.
\n(Facsimile of an edition published by Macmillan in 1866)<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Five: The books on display
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six: T.S. Eliot\u2019s much-loved collection of cat poetry was originally written to entertain his god-children, and later found fame as a stage musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eliot, T.S. Old Possum\u2019s book of practical cats. Illustrated by Nicolas Bentley.
\nLondon: Faber and Faber
\n1940 (1962 reprint)
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seven: Sid has cleverly organized a perfect life for himself, living in six different houses and eating six different dinners every day. But one day, after six trips to the vet, he is found out!

Moore, Inga. Six dinner Sid.
London: Simon & Schuster
1990<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight: Tom, a three-legged tabby cat, lives a quiet life with respectable Mrs Gimble, but he longs to prowl around the world. Tom\u2019s yen for adventure is satisfied when there is a fortuitous mix-up between him and a somewhat tatty hat belonging to Mrs Gimble\u2019s swagman brother, Cyril.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahy, Margaret. The three-legged cat. Illustrated by Jonathan Allen.
\nLondon: Puffin
\n1994<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine: Feline Friends: Cats in Children\u2019s Literature \u2014 From the Dorothy Neal White Collection and the National Children\u2019s Collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People and cats have lived together for thousands of years, from the time when cats provided a rodent hunting service for early farming communities.
\nIn modern times our relationship with cats has developed into a much closer emotional bond. Although one of the cat\u2019s most notable characteristics is independence, they are devoted and trusting companions for their chosen humans. These children\u2019s stories range from the realistic to the fantastical, and their cat characters show some of our feline friends\u2019 most familiar traits: adventurousness, stealth, feistiness, opportunism and love of a cosy home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten: A collection of four stories featuring two of Lynley Dodd\u2019s most beloved cat characters. Slinky Malinki is the \u201cstalking and lurking adventurous cat\u201d, known in particular for his ambitious acts of theft around his neighbourhood. Scarface Claw is \u201cthe toughest tom in town\u201d, always ready to stir up trouble with cats and dogs alike. (Stories in the collection are: Slinky Malinki ; Slinky Malinki, open the door ; Slinky Malinki catflaps ; Scarface Claw).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dodd, Lynley. Cat\u2019s whiskers: four favourite Lynley Dodd stories.
\nWellington, N.Z.: Mallinson Rendel
\n2003
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Mary Skarott, Research Librarian, Children’s Literature<\/p>\n\n\n\n