Castaway Cats

by Lisa Wheeler, Ponder Goembel (Illustrator)

A storm, a shipwreck,

an ongoing ocean,

then finally, finally

a deserted isle. . . .

Safety -- but wait!

The fifteen swimmers

braving the waves

are, after all . . . kitties.

They are not into

cooperating

until, until

on this desert isle

they must.

Here,

from the creators

of the witty Old Cricket,

comes a wily, wise

saga of sogginess,

a feline fantasy

about drying off (elegantly),

shaping up (grumpily),

getting along (at last),

and loving it.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Poetry, Adventure, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2006

Reviews

[Danielle Lee]

Read in honor of National Cat Month 🐈‍⬛

A good message about teamwork and how the more the merrier is a good rule of thumb

[Chelsea Gail Smith]

Castaway Cats by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Ponder Goembel is the story that I chose would be perfect for a read aloud story. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that there were fifteen cats in the story and each cat was different. When reading aloud it is fun to use different voices to act as the different cats in the story. The story is about 15 cats being shipwrecked and landing on a deserted island. They work together and said things like, "let me help you," and "you're so thoughtful." In the end the cats end up wanting to stay on the island because they feel like it is now their home. The illustrations really pop out and the reader can tell which cats are adult and which ones are kittens. The illustrations also relate to what is happening in the story. Another good thing about the story is there is a lot of repetition which I feel is a good tool for children when listening to a story. It keeps them entertained and interested in what is going on. Also this story opens up children's imaginations by the theme of cats being able to talk and be stranded on the island. The moral of the story is as long as you are with the people you love anywhere can be home, which I think is an important lesson for elementary students to learn.

[Sarah Sammis]

Castaway Cats is a counting and rhyming book in the vein of Click, Clack, Splish, Splash by Doreen Cronin. It counts up to 15 and back down from 15 while telling the story of a boatload of castaway cats trying to survive on an island in the middle of the South Pacific.

The book opens on a scene similar to one which gets Mrs. Moore washed up by the lighthouse in The Lighthouse, the Cat and the Sea by Leigh W. Rutledge except with happier results. A mixture of breeds wash ashore, including a number of kittens. The one who ends up calling the shots is a calico named mittens.

Had I not read Cats are Not Peas I would have tossed the book aside at the appearance of Mittens. See, his calico is a very buff Tom. Under normal circumstances, calicos should be female but sometimes you'll get a chimera cat (XXY) who will be both male and calico.

What the cats have to decide is whether to try to affect a rescue either by building a bonfire or by building a boat or if they want to make a home for themselves on the island. They spend half the book trying one thing only to come to realization that separately they had settled on a very different outcome.

[Molly Cluff (Library!)]

Lots of characters to keep track of, mostly I had a fun looking at all the detailed cat illustrations. I did enjoy the ending where they decided to stay stranded on the island and have their own little cat community.

[Sasha]

If you were tripping on acid and walked into a vet office during a hurricane, it would be this book. The rhymes were ridiculous. The names were ridiculous. The clothing was ridiculous. The ending was ridiculous. I loved every second. Pawesome.

[Amber]

3.9

[Michelle]

A bit odd as the cats are anthropomorphic, but still a good read.

[Erica Flory]

cute

[Pam]

Fifteen cats are shipwrecked on an island. They have to work together to survive. Clever rhyming verse tells the story.

[Erin]

I would give this one four stars since the rhyming text was cute, and I just like cats. But a calico tomcat? Nearly impossible.

[Sara]

Incredible illustrations. Rhyming text full of poetic devices. Overall a fun story for building community and learning to live in harmony.

[Kelly]

Very expressive illustrations, and they were well drawn. The rhyming story tells of a bunch of cats, adults and kittens, who are shipwrecked and have to learn how to work together to survive.

[Ham]

Normally I can’t stand rhyming books, but this one was well done. The art was nice, but I would’ve liked it a little less realistic and more cartoony to give it personality.

[Meredith]

Interesting story that follows 15 felines following a shipwreck. Book has a good message about working together and belonging. Extension activity would be to create a prequel or sequel

[kim]

yikes. my 5yo refused to have me read it out loud and I think he must have had a premonition

[Aimée]

Total niedlich. Und in Gedichtform!

[Gabs]

Great book

[skcocnaH]

This was cute, but there were things that just couldn’t work— like, no way could they survive on the island. My 6 year old was super bothered by that.

[AMY]

Great rhyming story! Kids will love this tale and the nice twist at the end. Highly recommended for Grades 2-4

[James]

Great poetic, figurative language, subtle humor, and a sweet story with fun pictures. Any cat loving kid will enjoy this!

[Eyehavenofilter]

All i could think of when i saw the Siamese cats swimming on the cover like 'Lotke and Phelps'
(no way)and tiny little kittens desperately clinging to a life preserver, was "this person must hate cats?"
15 cats are washed ashore,near the land of Singapore.
The rhymes dont end, each has a verse,but heck what were they doing,sailing a hearse?
They drank cocoanut milk and fished with poles, ,where they got those no one knows.
Cats looked for rescue from the tops of palms, and fought for survival with many qualms.
They argued anf ought, fur was flying, but working together would have to be a "buy in".
Finally deciding "its better to stay" than to fight to find a way away!
the cats illustrated lovingly by Ponder Goembel, dipite my original impression.

[Sandie]

I thought this book was adorable and my daughter also enjoyed all the different cats. I was kind of reminded of Lynley Dodd with the rhyming style in which the was written which always seems to make the stories flow so much better and makes them fun to read out loud!

The story is about 15 cats that were caught in a storm and washed up on an island. As the days go by they have to learn to work together in order to survive and there is much figting and fur flying before they finally are able to cooperate with each other.

The drawings are very cute, I especially loved Mittens and my daughter loved the litter of kittens!

[Susan]

I came across this title while discharging the bookdrop. It's adorable! The story is about 15 cats that are washed ashore on a deserted island following a shipwreck. They have to figure out how to work together to get rescued and in the process realize they have all become such good friends, they are really like family and don't want to be apart once they are rescued. I won't spoil the ending for you! The illustrations are very cute.

[Dolly]

This is a humorous tale about shipwrecked cats who must find a way to work together. The narrative is lyrical and rhyming and the illustrations are very nicely detailed. We loved looking at all of the different cats and I enjoyed reading this book aloud.
I think the underlying message about the importance of cooperation is something our politicians need to learn! Overall, it's a entertaining story and we enjoyed reading this book together.

[Whitney Strickland]

Castaway Cats is a book that will take your students on a journey, and right into a math lesson. This story makes counting fun and adds humor to the story by adding 15 cats into the sea. The children at my placement loved this story and I definitely plan on using it for future lessons. It is great to be able to introduce a new concept with a piece of quality children's literature.

[Karin]

This is another wonderful book by Lisa Wheeler. The poetry is lovely, the story great. It's about 15 cats who get washed up on an island and try to get off it. While doing this they learn to work together and also that they care about each other! Nice morals and values ( helping, caring, loving) but not in a preachy way.

[Greta]

Very Clever!

[Kelsey Yates]

Fun story, well done illustrations

[Andrew]

Nice teamwork book.

[Valerie]

What's not to love? Fun story and wonderful pictures and perfect cat caricatures! Laughed a lot!