Puss Reboots: Blog: May 2010: The Nine Lives of Aristotle

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Loudmouth George and the New Neighbors by Nancy Carlson
Mermaid by Robert Reed
Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks and Sue Hendra
Never Blood Enough by Joe Haldeman
The Nine Lives of Aristotle by Dick King Smith
The Order of Things by Barbara Ann Kipfer
Owly Volume 3: Flying Lessons by Andy Runton
Pigsty by Mark Teague
Poppleton by Cynthia Rylant

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The Nine Lives of Aristotle: 05/10/10

The Nine Lives of Aristotle by Dick King-Smith is about a young kitten who finds an unusual forever home. Aristotle is a white clumsy and overly curious kitten. He's chosen by the kindly witch Bella Donna to be her familiar if she can just keep him from burning through his nine lives.

Every kitten I known has gotten into things, taken spills and done things to make the old saying about cats having nine lives seem plausible. For Aristotle, the saying is true and if the witch can't keep him out of trouble he'll run out of lives before he reaches adulthood.

I checked out the book with some trepidations. The last Dick King-Smith novel I'd read with magical (or in that case, extra-terrestrial) overtones, I hated. The illustrations by Bob Graham though caught my eye and I was hopeful that it wouldn't be as off-putting as Harriet's Hare. The book ended up being delightful.