Catwings
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Catwings.jpg/220px-Catwings.jpg)
Catwings is a series of four American
In Britain the series was published in two
Scholastic classifies the Catwings books as fantasy and classifies the first two by "interest level" as "grades 2–5", the last two as "grades preK–3"[2] (children of ages about 7–11 and 4–9 respectively). The series is covered by the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, which classifies the volumes as short fiction and as chapbooks.[1]
Scholastic Book Guides, a series for schoolteachers, includes one Catwings volume.[2]
In 2002 and 2003 as Catwings 5 and Catwings 6, Le Guin published online editions of picture books "by Mrs. Katz's First Grade Class".[4]
Ten years after their last Catwings volume, Le Guin and Schindler created another picture book featuring a cat: Cat Dreams (Orchard/Scholastic, 2009), with "easy rhyming text" and "realistic, full-bleed watercolor illustrations".[5][6]
Plot summary
Catwings
Mrs. Jane Tabby can't explain why her four precious kittens were born with wings, but gladly she's grateful that they are able to use their flying skills to soar away from the dangerous city slums where they were born. However, once the kittens escape the big city, they learn that country life can be just as difficult.[7]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/CatwingsReturn.jpg)
Catwings Return
James and Harriet return to the city to find their mother. When they arrive, they find a small black kitten with wings, isolated and traumatized. They gain its trust, find their mother, and learn that the kitten is hers – lost when their first home, an old dumpster, was moved. Mother Jane declines to leave the city but asks James and Harriet to take the kitten with them. They do, and the rural children who have cared for them name her Jane.
Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings
In the country, a self-important young cat named Alexander leaves home and finds the catwings family. He grows up as he helps Jane talk.
Jane on Her Own
Young Jane leaves her farm family and returns to the city. She and mother Jane find a home with a woman in an apartment.
Publication
All books were written by Ursula K. Le Guin and illustrated by S. D. Schindler; cover designs vary but consistently use illustrations by Schindler. U.S. editions were published by Scholastic, perhaps under its Orchard Books imprint.
- Catwings (LCCN 87-33104
- Catwings Return (1989)
- Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (1994)
- Jane on Her Own (1999)
- Tales of Catwings (UK: ISBN 0-14-130040-X – omnibus edition of books 1–2[1]
- More Tales of the Catwings (Puffin, 2000), ISBN 0-14-130531-2 – omnibus of books 3–4[1]
All four books were reissued by Orchard/Scholastic in May 2003 with cover designs that display their titles under a common banner that shows "A Catwings Tale",
- The Catwings Collection (2003), ISBN 0439551056 – boxed set of "Le Guin's first four installments of her series" (as by Ken Geist and Le Guin)[3]
Reception
Kirkus Reviews called the first Catwings book "a charming, if insubstantial story" and concluded, "Although there is nothing extraordinary here in either theme or event, the wit and precision with which the story is told give it considerable appeal. Schindler's exquisitely detailed drawings, warmed with the softest of added color, make a perfect accompaniment to what should serve as a satisfying young reader or as a read-aloud".[9] Reviewing the sequel six months later, Kirkus observed: "Like its predecessor, this is a rather mild little story made interesting by its beguiling subject, the author's wit and felicitous use of language, and the illustrator's fine, splendidly detailed drawings".[10]
Illustrator
Steven D. Schindler was born September 27, 1952, in Kenosha, Wisconsin,[11] and raised there.[12] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in biology.[11] He lives in Philadelphia (1999[13] and 2015).[14]
By 1989 his books had been published with credit as illustrator under all of the forename(s) S. D., Steven, Steven D., and Steve.[13]
A list of works published in January 2007 covered more than 100 books but only one as both writer and illustrator ("self-illustrated"), namely My First Bird Book (Random House, 1989,
The First Tulips in Holland, written by
WorldCat reports that Catwings (1988) ranks fourth among Schindler's books most widely held in participating libraries. The others in his top five, led by The Story of Salt, are much younger books. In chronological order:[16]
- Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!, written by Kathleen V. Kudlinski (Dutton Children's Books, 2005), unpaged, OCLC 52547649
- Whittington, OCLC 55131439
- The Story of Salt, OCLC 62302331
- Tricking the Tallyman, Jacqueline D. Davies (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009), unpaged – set in Vermont during the inaugural OCLC 190760583
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e Catwings series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Search results: Catwings Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Scholastic Teachers (scholastic.com). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ a b "Catwings Set". Powell's City of Books (powells.com). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ Catwings 5: The Adventures of Catwings Archived September 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
Catwings 6: Grandma Jane and her Grandkittens Archived September 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
Ursula K. Le Guin (ursulakleguin.com). Retrieved 2015-08-15. - ^ "CAT DREAMS by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrated by S.D. Schindler". Kirkus Reviews (kirkusreviews.com). August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Cat Dreams" Archived September 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Ursula K. Le Guin. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ISBN 0439551897.
The bestselling Catwings series!
- ^ "Catwings Return (A Catwings Tale)" [2003]. Powell's. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Catwings illustrated by S.D. Schindler, by Ursula K. Le Guin". Kirkus Reviews (kirkusreviews.com). August 15, 1988. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ "Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin". Kirkus. February 15, 1989. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Schindler, S.D. 1952–". Something About the Author. January 2007. Copyright 2006 Thomson Gale. Reprint at Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2015-08-15.
- ^ a b "About". S. D. Schindler. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Schindler, S. D.". Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c "S.D. Schindler Books" [homepage]. S. D. Schindler (sdshindlerbooks.com). Retrieved 2015-08-15.
- ^ "SPIKE AND IKE TAKE A HIKE by S.D. Schindler, illustrated by S.D. Schindler". Kirkus Reviews. March 1, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Schindler, S. D.". WorldCat.org. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
External links
- Search results: catwings at Kirkus.com (4 reviews)