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 Come Meet Muffin!
by Joyce Carol Oates
illustrated by Mark Graham
Hopewell, NJ: Ecco Press, 1998
28 pages
Dust Jacket Blurb
When the Smith family rescues Muffin on the side of a country road, he appears to be a typical lost kitten in search of a home. But little Lily Smith soon discovers that this watermelon-loving, peanut-butter-eating new friend is no ordinary kitty!
Muffin sits at the dinner table, enjoys lettuce and rye crackers, and keeps a protective eye on the other cats in the family. One chilly winter morning, Muffin notices two lost fawns outside Lily's bedroom window. Determined to be helpful to others, Muffin heads out into the forest to deliver the fawns back to their mother. Hooting owls, grumpy squirls, and chirping chickadees are encountered along the way, until Muffin realizes he has roamed very far into unfamiliar surroundings. The resourceful cat learns that he must rely on his own ingenuity to get himself out of trouble and back into the warmth of his cozy home. In her first children's book, Joyce Carol Oates pairs playful prose with the exquisite naturalistic oil paintings of Mark Graham. Engaging and atmospheric, this charming tale is one that children will want to hear again and again.
Ages 5-8
Reviews
- Publishers Weekly, July 20, 1998, p219
- Booklist, August 19, 1998
- School Library Journal, January 1999, p99-100
- Cats Magazine, August 1999, p39
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Excerpt
One morning, Muffin heard a sound outside in the snow. He climbed up onto the windowsill and saw two fawns in the backyard! He sensed the fawns were lost because their mother was nowhere in sight. Muffin quickly squeezed out the window and ran to help the fawns. He remembered when he had been lost as a kitten. He knew the fawns wanted their mother. |
Page address:
http://jco.usfca.edu/works/children/muffin.html
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