Cat Breeds of the World
Desmond Morris
Viking
Nonfiction, Cats
****
DESCRIPTION: There are many domestic cat breeds, from the common Persians to the rare York Chocolate. This book offers pictures and descriptions of most (if not all) of them, from new efforts to possibly extinct lines.
REVIEW: Yet another treasure found for a greatly reduced price in the Barnes & Noble bargain shelves. I trimmed this one a point for not going into more depth in some of the more unusual breeds listed. If Morris was going to bother mentioning a breed, I thought he should at least attempt to explain what it is, and how it's different from other breeds (or one-generation oddities, which more than one "breed" appears to be.) Other than that, it's a very interesting and up-to-date cat breed book, describing in greater detail cats that other books gloss over or mention only in footnotes. I know there are other breeds out there not covered, at least as obscure as (and sometimes less obscure than) some of those mentioned here.
You might also enjoy:
Eyewitness Handbook: Cats (David Alderton, Nonfiction - A photographic guide to modern cat breeds)
The Mini-Atlas of Cats (Andrew DePrisco and James B. Johnson, Nonfiction - A guide to cats domestic and wild)
The ASPCA Cat Care Manual (Andrew Edney, B.M.V., Nonfiction - Cat care)
Secrets of the Cat (Barbara Holland, Nonfiction - Cat guide and anecdote collection)
Good Owners, Great Cats (Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, Nonfiction - Raising and owning well-adjusted cats)
Guide to Cats of the World (Howard Loxton, Nonfiction - Illustrated cat breed guide)
The Cat Who Couldn't See in the Dark (Howard Padwee, D.V.M. and Valerie Moolman, Nonfiction - A vet recalls stories of feline patients and their owners)
Cats for Dummies(Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion, DVM, DACVIM, Nonfiction - Cat care)
Simon & Schuster's Guide to Cats (Mordecai Siegal, editor, Nonfiction - Cat guide)
Return to Top of Page - Return to Book Review List
Snow Leopard
Jackie Morris
Frances Lincoln Books
Fiction, YA Picture Book
****
DESCRIPTION: High in the Himalayas, the spirit of the Snow Leopard sings the stars into shining, the snow into falling, the world into being... but it grows old, and needs someone else to learn its songs. Down in the valley, the Girl dreams of the great cat. When raiders come to her hidden world, can the Snow Leopard's song protect her village?
REVIEW: I bought this picture book for the beautiful watercolor illustrations, featuring (of course) snow leopards. The story, as with many picture books, is entirely secondary. In this case, it's a simple little tale with a predictable ending. I bought it from the Snow Leopard Trust at a local festival, so the money went to a good cause.
You might also enjoy:
Heart of a Tiger (Marsha Diane Arnold, YA Picture Book - A shy gray kitten wants a tiger's name on Naming Day)
Catkin (Antonia Barber, YA Picture Book - A tiny cat saves a girl abducted by fairies)
Cat Hiss-tory: A Feline Tour through the Ages (Bill Bell, YA Picture Book - Fanciful "history" picture book)
Comet's Nine Lives (Jan Brett, YA Picture Book - A cat searches for a home before he runs out of lives)
Star Cats: A Feline Zodiac (Lesley Ann Ivory, Fiction - A book on the zodiac, with beautiful cat artwork)
Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria (Rahma Krambo, YA Fiction - A housecat must help defend a powerful book from evil forces)
Imagine a Night (Sarah L. Thompson, YA Picture Book - Fantasy images by Rob Gonsalves)
Return to Top of Page - Return to Book Review List
Return to Brightdreamer Books Home
Brightdreamer Books is created and maintained by TBW, a.k.a. "Brightdreamer."
E-mail: tbweber AT comcast DOT net. (Remove spaces, replace AT with "@" and DOT with "." - please put "Brightdreamer Books" in the subject line, or your e-mail may be deleted as
spam! Thank you!