Cross Country Cats

PreS-Gr 3—Tabby the cat lives in Seattle with Buddy the cat, the Man, and the Woman. His happy home is disrupted by the arrival of two cross country cats, Piggy and Murray, formerly apartment dwellers in New York. The four cats settle into an uneasy peace, deciding on food preferences and favorite lounging locations. One afternoon when the newcomers are too much for Tabby, Woman puts him outside on his climbing structure which he very much enjoys until it gets dark and he realizes he has been forgotten. The invasion of a family of raccoons, dubbed the Shapiro family by Man, topples the climbing structure, sending Tabby crashing to the ground. Man and Woman open the door to see what the racket is about, and the littlest raccoon gets inside. In the commotion that follows, all the raccoons get into the house, until Woman helps Mrs. Shapiro find her child. As the raccoons leave, Tabby slips unnoticed back inside. Charles Kraus became the owner of these four real cats when his daughters sent Piggy and Murray by plane across the country. He retells their experiences with his own two cats and a family of raccoons from Tabby's point of view. His warm, resonant voice puts listeners in the thick of the action. Sound effects and interludes are comically exaggerated. This charming recording will leave listeners wanting more.—Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN