You Can't Rush a Cat by Karleen Bradford

So it has been a while since I've blogged mainly because other things having been keeping me busy: house renovations, my youngest home from university and in need of pampering, celebrating my oldest daughter's 25th birthday (searching for the perfect purple, girly bike big enough to fit my six foot tall baby), and yes, even a bit of work. And...believe it or not, I have just finished an adult book, In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant. I enjoyed it immensely (but now I'll have to rush through my bookclub title or I won't finish it). In the Company... has real appeal for young adults with an interst in historical fiction, although prostitution is the subject so be warned. Still, I love historical fiction, and I know it has real appeal for teens as well. Actually, my daughter (the bookseller one) was bemoaning the lack of Canadian historical fiction for teens, and the Dear Cananada series just doesn't count as it is for way younger kids.


In a totally different vein you may want to look for You Can't Rush a Cat by Karleen Bradford. Bradford is best known for her young adult novels, my favourite being The Nine Day Queen and fabulous juvenile novels such as With Nothing But Courage. She has also dabbled in non-fiction but the one I like and often suggest to keen young writers is Write Now. This may be her first picture book, I'm not really sure on that) but with a wealth of writing experience behind her, the result isn't surprising. You Can't Rush a Cat is one of those lovely quiet books that is perfect for curling up with. The simple sentence structure and periodic repetition make it suitable for young independent readers. but it's real charm lies in reading it as a duo. It is, for example, the perfect bedtime book and will especially appeal to grandparents who enjoy reading to their grandchildren. I particularly enjoyed Leslie Elizabeth Watts' illustrations, which are apparently egg yold and water mixed with dry pigments. I love it when this sort of information is included by the publisher, which is Orca Books by the way. But, back to Watt's illustrations. They are superb as much for what is painted as is what is merely hinted at. So if you are looking for a story little story to share with someone special, this is it. Mind you, it would help if you love cats, but then I loved it and I hate cats, so there you are.

So, now back to work, or at least I will try, but the window installers are hammering away, so I may be forced to give up and head out to the garden to weed.