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Cats of Myth: Tales From Around the World
Presents a collection of stories from Egypt, India, Japan, Scandinavia, Ireland, and other places that portray cats as goddesses, guardians, tricksters, warriors, and magicians.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Loretta Hausman
21 books1 followerLoretta Huasman, along with her husband, fellow author Gerald Husman, lives in Bokeelia, Florida, with their three dogs: Beeper a Dachshund, Mocha an Akital, and Zeb, a Great Dane.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 7, 2015
Short version: This collection of short stories is accessible for juvenile readers but enjoyable for anyone with an interest in folklore, world cultures, and of course cats. 3.5/5.
Long version: I probably would have never found this book had it not popped up when I was searching my regional library database for books on Bahamian culture, which interests me as a Bahamian-American. I was surprised to see what appeared to be a children's book pop up and had to request it out of cat-like curiosity.
To call "Cats of Myth" a children's book or juvenile fiction is probably a little too simplistic. Although it is only 96 pages long, there is actual substance to the stories, which represent Polynesia, the West Indies, multiple Germanic nations, China, Egypt, and more. Each story shares a national myth featuring a cat, though they are not always the hero or even a "good guy." Most stories are set in the "once upon a time..." periods of each culture, like the ancient Egypt protected by the gods or the verdant witch-populated days of Central Europe.
The stories give a sense of the values important in each culture by giving us creation myths for them. In the Bahamian story, "Kit Cat of Cat Key," we get a sense of why it became so bad in Bahamian culture to harm dolphins. The Chinese story teaches us about the importance of the soul over the body. The Polynesian story emphasizes why people should marry instead of being alone and why people need to be brave and face their fears like warriors. And of course the Egyptian story tells us just what cats did to earn themselves godlike respect.
There are some all-too-predictable imbalances in the cultures represented -- you won't find any stories from Africa outside of Egypt, or from any Hispanic or lusophone culture, or any indigenous North American group -- but for 96 pages, there's a lot covered. Each story is followed by a page giving historical and crosscultural context, which is more than I usually expect from a book like this.
Although I might quibble a bit with the Bahamian story -- if it's part of the culture, why has my native Bahamian mother never heard of it? -- but "Cats of Myth" does come with sources, giving more weight to the idea that this isn't your average children's or juvenile read. If you like folklore, cats, or both, give it a try. 3.5/5.
Long version: I probably would have never found this book had it not popped up when I was searching my regional library database for books on Bahamian culture, which interests me as a Bahamian-American. I was surprised to see what appeared to be a children's book pop up and had to request it out of cat-like curiosity.
To call "Cats of Myth" a children's book or juvenile fiction is probably a little too simplistic. Although it is only 96 pages long, there is actual substance to the stories, which represent Polynesia, the West Indies, multiple Germanic nations, China, Egypt, and more. Each story shares a national myth featuring a cat, though they are not always the hero or even a "good guy." Most stories are set in the "once upon a time..." periods of each culture, like the ancient Egypt protected by the gods or the verdant witch-populated days of Central Europe.
The stories give a sense of the values important in each culture by giving us creation myths for them. In the Bahamian story, "Kit Cat of Cat Key," we get a sense of why it became so bad in Bahamian culture to harm dolphins. The Chinese story teaches us about the importance of the soul over the body. The Polynesian story emphasizes why people should marry instead of being alone and why people need to be brave and face their fears like warriors. And of course the Egyptian story tells us just what cats did to earn themselves godlike respect.
There are some all-too-predictable imbalances in the cultures represented -- you won't find any stories from Africa outside of Egypt, or from any Hispanic or lusophone culture, or any indigenous North American group -- but for 96 pages, there's a lot covered. Each story is followed by a page giving historical and crosscultural context, which is more than I usually expect from a book like this.
Although I might quibble a bit with the Bahamian story -- if it's part of the culture, why has my native Bahamian mother never heard of it? -- but "Cats of Myth" does come with sources, giving more weight to the idea that this isn't your average children's or juvenile read. If you like folklore, cats, or both, give it a try. 3.5/5.
May 14, 2016
Old library copy, removed from circulation.
October 14, 2022
A good collection of tales.
October 17, 2022
Generally quite good but unnecessary fat shaming. I'm also not sure why all cats in this book were described as female until the individual stories mentioned male cats.
January 23, 2025
A neat collection of short stories that typically feature a certain breed of cat. Written in a way that would be easy for a young reader to handle, but still interesting for an adult.
October 13, 2015
Title: Cats of myth
Author: Gerald & Loretta Hausman
Illustrator: Leslie Baker
Genre: folktale
Theme(s): myth stories of cats
Opening line/sentence: The Tiger and the Tabby: An East Indian Folktale. A long time ago there was a tiger and her best friend, a tabby cat.
Brief Book Summary: A collection of cats’ myth story from all over the world. Children will learn different cultural.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-East Indian, Japanese, Jamaican, German, Czech, Egyptian, and other traditions were tapped to provide fodder for this thoughtful look at the many roles in which cats are cast in traditional mythology-creator, trickster, goddess, monster, and guardian. Baker's lively full- and double-page watercolor illustrations enhance the 10 tales, bringing out the innocent, humorous, or regal qualities of the feline in question. An afterword follows each smoothly written selection, providing additional facts about an individual breed or elucidating cultural references. Entertaining whether read alone or aloud, this attractive volume is a good companion to the Hausmans' Dogs of Myth (S & S, 1999), presented in the same format with Barry Moser's illustrations.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
From Booklist
Gr. 3-6, younger for reading aloud. This handsome, oversize book is not just a treat for cat lovers but also for readers who enjoy a good folktale. The authors offer nine stories about cats, dividing them into categories such as the trickster cat, the guardian cat, the goddess cat. The tales come from many places and times: ancient Egypt, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Polynesia. From India comes a story about how the cat became domesticated--at the expense of its friend the tiger. A Japanese Aen tale describes a martial arts confrontation between an old temple cat and a rat. Leslie Baker's enchanting watercolor art using layered washes appears throughout the stories, and each tale begins with a Barry Moser-like portrait of the cat protagonist. Giving the book extra heft are the notes and sources that discuss both the tales and the cats featured in them. A worthy purchase. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both of the two reviews put emphasis on its illustration. The illustrator used featured pictures for each different story, which made the book more attractive. Also, this is a good book to be used to teach different cultures.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: For higher graders, they can learn myths story with same character in different culture. Texts are illustrated with pictures, and vocabularies are appropriate for children.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Students with different backgrounds can ask their parents and bring their cultural story to the classroom and share with others. Also, we can choose several of the stories in this book, and introduce the cultural background behind the stories.
Author: Gerald & Loretta Hausman
Illustrator: Leslie Baker
Genre: folktale
Theme(s): myth stories of cats
Opening line/sentence: The Tiger and the Tabby: An East Indian Folktale. A long time ago there was a tiger and her best friend, a tabby cat.
Brief Book Summary: A collection of cats’ myth story from all over the world. Children will learn different cultural.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-East Indian, Japanese, Jamaican, German, Czech, Egyptian, and other traditions were tapped to provide fodder for this thoughtful look at the many roles in which cats are cast in traditional mythology-creator, trickster, goddess, monster, and guardian. Baker's lively full- and double-page watercolor illustrations enhance the 10 tales, bringing out the innocent, humorous, or regal qualities of the feline in question. An afterword follows each smoothly written selection, providing additional facts about an individual breed or elucidating cultural references. Entertaining whether read alone or aloud, this attractive volume is a good companion to the Hausmans' Dogs of Myth (S & S, 1999), presented in the same format with Barry Moser's illustrations.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
From Booklist
Gr. 3-6, younger for reading aloud. This handsome, oversize book is not just a treat for cat lovers but also for readers who enjoy a good folktale. The authors offer nine stories about cats, dividing them into categories such as the trickster cat, the guardian cat, the goddess cat. The tales come from many places and times: ancient Egypt, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Polynesia. From India comes a story about how the cat became domesticated--at the expense of its friend the tiger. A Japanese Aen tale describes a martial arts confrontation between an old temple cat and a rat. Leslie Baker's enchanting watercolor art using layered washes appears throughout the stories, and each tale begins with a Barry Moser-like portrait of the cat protagonist. Giving the book extra heft are the notes and sources that discuss both the tales and the cats featured in them. A worthy purchase. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both of the two reviews put emphasis on its illustration. The illustrator used featured pictures for each different story, which made the book more attractive. Also, this is a good book to be used to teach different cultures.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: For higher graders, they can learn myths story with same character in different culture. Texts are illustrated with pictures, and vocabularies are appropriate for children.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Students with different backgrounds can ask their parents and bring their cultural story to the classroom and share with others. Also, we can choose several of the stories in this book, and introduce the cultural background behind the stories.
January 30, 2015
We picked this up at the biannual library book sale. My seven year old has a deep fondness for cats... Me too:)
What an enjoyable collection of myths - I like reading to my son, but this book made me even look forward to it on an intellectual level.
The art is delicate watercolor, sometimes soft and surreal, others playful and lively.
The stories themselves were great fun. I know our feline overlords have been in our culture for a long time, but I didn't know these nine tales existed. Each tale has an Afterword that gives you the history of different breeds and other geographical and anthropological tidbits.
The writing, though, is what really grabbed me. I love when a writer can paint with words. And these folks did! Prose that played with senses; descriptions that were poetic nuggets - I could probably find a gem to make me smile on each page (picks random page) "Gold and gray, spotted and cream, misted and molten, they came —in such numbers and on so many padded feet that the sand was scored with the hieroglyphic imprints of their paws."
Lovely writing, art and history. Read this to your cat loving kiddos, or your cat loving self :)
What an enjoyable collection of myths - I like reading to my son, but this book made me even look forward to it on an intellectual level.
The art is delicate watercolor, sometimes soft and surreal, others playful and lively.
The stories themselves were great fun. I know our feline overlords have been in our culture for a long time, but I didn't know these nine tales existed. Each tale has an Afterword that gives you the history of different breeds and other geographical and anthropological tidbits.
The writing, though, is what really grabbed me. I love when a writer can paint with words. And these folks did! Prose that played with senses; descriptions that were poetic nuggets - I could probably find a gem to make me smile on each page (picks random page) "Gold and gray, spotted and cream, misted and molten, they came —in such numbers and on so many padded feet that the sand was scored with the hieroglyphic imprints of their paws."
Lovely writing, art and history. Read this to your cat loving kiddos, or your cat loving self :)
June 11, 2017
From the perspective that this is a children's book...
I think this book would be an interesting read for older cat-loving children. While my seven-year-old sat and listened, he would frequently ask what certain words meant (converged, resignation, scrofulous, multifarious, diminutive... you get the idea) . I think the language could have been simplified for younger kids.
That being said: As an adult, I enjoyed reading it to my son, and found the afterwards of each story full of interesting tidbits that I had no knowledge of.
I think this book would be an interesting read for older cat-loving children. While my seven-year-old sat and listened, he would frequently ask what certain words meant (converged, resignation, scrofulous, multifarious, diminutive... you get the idea) . I think the language could have been simplified for younger kids.
That being said: As an adult, I enjoyed reading it to my son, and found the afterwards of each story full of interesting tidbits that I had no knowledge of.
March 21, 2014
This is essentially, as the title suggests, a collection of tales about cats from around the world. The stories are fun, and the illustrations are beautiful.
It's cute, and if you like cats and/or folk tales, I highly recommend this one.
(And if you have kids, this would make a great book of bedtime stories.)
It's cute, and if you like cats and/or folk tales, I highly recommend this one.
(And if you have kids, this would make a great book of bedtime stories.)
March 11, 2009
I love me a good cat story and this book has lots! The stories are from all over the world and all involve cats as the historically magical, mythical creatures that they are.
June 24, 2013
Enjoyable cat stories from around the world.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews