The Cat Next Door

by Betty Ren Wright, Gail Owens (Illustrator)

When her beloved grandmother dies, a little girl recalls the times she and her grandmother used to ride on a crocodile raft, make cookies and lemonade, have picnics, take boat rides, and wait for the cat next door

Genres: Grief, Picture Books

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Betty Ren Wright was an award-winning author of children's fiction including The Dollhouse Murders, The Ghosts Of Mercy Manor and A Ghost in The House.

Known for her ghost stories and mysteries, Wright published 28 children's novels between 1981 and 2006, as well as picture books and short stories. Prior to pursuing her career as a full-time author in 1978, she worked as an editor of children's books.

Wright lived in Wisconsin with her husband, painter George A. Fredericksen, until her death in 2013.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every year a granddaughter goes to the cabin to see her grandpa and grandma and every year “the Cat Next Door” comes to greet her. After the death of her grandmother, however, she is reluctant to go to the cabin. But the Cat Next Door greets her as usual “with a special purpose” (kittens) and she knows her grandmother would be happy.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is okay, but the illustrations make the whole family so stunningly blond and the setting is so Kennebunkport (they go down to their private dock to take a little ride in their boat) that I just can't feature giving this book to any of the Mexican or Central American kids on my street for whom I obtained it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautifully written is this story of a little girl and a very deep trial she has to go through (and how she's helped through it)... it's so simple that you fill in what's happening in between the lines. It had me bawling like a baby.

[Cws]

JEPIC-Wri