Review – Carbonel King of Cats by Barbara Sleigh, V.H. Drummond (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s
Genre: Fantasy/Classic
Length: 216 pages
Publisher: NYR Children’s Collection
Release Date: October 31, 2004
ISBN-13:978-1590171264
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Rosemary’s plan to clean houses during her summer break and surprise her mother with the money hits a snag when an old lady at the market talks her into buying a second-rate broom and a cat she can’t even afford to keep. But appearances can be deceiving. Some old ladies are witches, some brooms can fly, and some ordinary-looking cats are Princes of the Royal Blood. Rosemary’s cat (“You may call me Carbonel. That is my name.”) soon enlists her help in an adventure to free him from a hideous spell and return him to his rightful throne. But along the way Rosemary and her friend John must do some clever sleuthing, work a little magic of their own, and—not least— put up with the demands of a very haughty cat.”

This was a fun children’s book that is well written and stands the test of time pretty well. It was written back in the 1950’s. I loved Carbonel and the wonderful relationship Rosemary has with her mother, as well as the friendship she develops with John.

There’s a bit of a treasure hunt theme to this book and I enjoyed it a lot. There is some terminology in here that is a bit dated and I kind of had to use the surrounding context to figure out what some words meant. Still this was a great read and something I think kids and adults will both enjoy.

My 11 year old son started to read this and stopped because he thought it was boring; so this book would probably be better for younger kids or adults who enjoy charming kids stories.

Overall this was a wonderful story about a young girl and her magical cat and the summer she spends hunting treasure with him. I enjoyed the writing style and the story; it stands up to the test of time very nicely. I would recommend to younger kids (not middle grade age, but younger) and adults who enjoy charming children’s stories.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge