by Beverly Brenna
illustrations by Brooke Kerrigan
Red Deer Press, 2020
ISBN 9780889955318 (hc)
$19.95, 32 pp, ages 6 – 8
reddeerpress.com
In this true story, nine-year-old Caroline Markham visits an art gallery in Saskatoon and discovers a bronze sculpture of a girl in a rocking chair with a cat on her lap. Caroline feels a powerful connection with the sculpture, and returns to the gallery often to spend time with the girl and the cat. When she learns that the art piece is on loan and will be returned to another gallery too far away to visit, she is heartbroken and writes a letter to the gallery manager to plead for a permanent home for the sculpture in Saskatoon. The manager is touched by Caroline’s heartfelt plea and makes the letter public, which sparks a successful campaign to purchase the piece. The sculpture remains in Saskatoon to this day. Beautiful illustrations capture the mood of this inspiring story.
Classroom Connections: The Girl with the Cat demonstrates the value of taking a stand for something you believe strongly about and the power of one person’s action, even if that one person is a child. Because this is a true story of a child’s accomplishment, your students will see proof that determined effort can make a difference in the world. Some suggestions for classroom use of The Girl with the Cat are available on the author’s website (beverleybrenna.com/cat-guide.html).
Review by Diana Mumford.
This book review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Spring 2021 issue.