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How the Manx Cat Lost Its Tail
New York:: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,, (1990). Fine in near fine dust jacket (price-clipped) . First printing. A charming retelling by this Caldecott honor award artist of one explanation of how the Manx cat lost its tail - as the rain is increasing and flooding is threatening Noah and his family do not want to take off in the ark until the wayward Manx cat arrives - he comes at the last moment, and his tail gets caught in the door. The great illustrations enhance the story. INSCRIBED by the author/illustrator with a small drawing and dated in the year of publication, on the page opposite the first page of the story. Large format, unpaginated.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
22 people want to read
About the author
Janet Stevens
82 books58 followersJanet Stevens began drawing as a child. Pictures decorated her walls, mirrors, furniture and school work -- including math assignments. While this didn't always sit well with her teachers, it was what she loved to do.
Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.
After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.
Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,
Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.
She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.
Janet’s father was in the Navy therefore she moved a great deal and attended many schools while growing up.
After graduating from high school in Hawaii in 1971 she landed a job creating Hawaiian designs for fabric. The printed fabric was then made into aloha shirts and muumuus. After she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1975 with a degree in Fine Arts Janet began compiling a portfolio of “characters”, bears in tutus, rhinos in sneakers, and walruses in Hawaiian shirts. In 1977, she attended “The Illustrator's Workshop” in New York City, where it was suggested that her characters might find a home in a children's book. Luckily for libraries (and children's book readers in general), publishers agreed and her first book was published in 1979.
Janet is the author and illustrator of many original stories and frequently collaborates with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel. Her trademark humorous animals also accompany the texts by such authors as Eric Kimmel and Coleen Salley,
Janet has received numerous book awards, including a Caldecott Honor Award, Time Magazine’s Ten Best Children’s Books , the Wanda Gág Best Read-Aloud Book. Child Magazine’s Best Books of the Year.. Janet's books have been named ALA Notables and have repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List.
She is particularly proud of her state book awards, voted on by children -- which include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Nebraska and Washington. Janet has received the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award twice.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 17, 2025
An classic tail
April 11, 2021
Why would Noah have dolphins and other sea creatures on the ark? I don't understand.
Other than that, a fine silly folktale. Makes no actual sense, but folktales don't have to.
Other than that, a fine silly folktale. Makes no actual sense, but folktales don't have to.
December 15, 2018
An origin story abut how the Manx cat lost its tail. Based on the tale of Noah's Ark. A little wordy when the basic story is that *spoiler* the cat was late and lost its tail in the closing door.
January 31, 2012
Well, I thought this was a clever fable, and my niece liked the story, too. It does involve the Noah's Ark story, so anyone who is not into Biblically oriented stories may not enjoy this story, but I would not say that there is anything particularly religious about it. It's just that the scene happens to be on Noah's Ark.
At any rate, while my niece and I liked How the Manx Cat Lost Its Tail just fine, my nephew was freaking out. He kept saying that it was too scary, and while I couldn't quite figure this out at the time, in hindsight, I don't think that the story itself is what was bothering him, I think it was the pictures. The pictures are stormy and chaotic, and dark, and several of the animal's faces do register fear and alarm. Lightning is flashing, the wind is raging, waves are crashing, and the sea is churning. My niece and I thought that the story itself was actually kind of funny, but upon looking at the book a second time through my nephew's eyes, I can see that there is a real disconnect between the humor of the words and the intensity of the pictures. I can definitely see how the pictures might be unsettling to a little kid.
At any rate, while my niece and I liked How the Manx Cat Lost Its Tail just fine, my nephew was freaking out. He kept saying that it was too scary, and while I couldn't quite figure this out at the time, in hindsight, I don't think that the story itself is what was bothering him, I think it was the pictures. The pictures are stormy and chaotic, and dark, and several of the animal's faces do register fear and alarm. Lightning is flashing, the wind is raging, waves are crashing, and the sea is churning. My niece and I thought that the story itself was actually kind of funny, but upon looking at the book a second time through my nephew's eyes, I can see that there is a real disconnect between the humor of the words and the intensity of the pictures. I can definitely see how the pictures might be unsettling to a little kid.
January 11, 2014
When Noah is filling the ark, the manx cat does not come despite being called over and over. Finally Noah's wife calls him "properly" with Spss, pss,sps sps sps pss" (which makes no sense to me, because I have always heard people call cats with "here, kitty kitty!" like Noah did) and the manx runs to the ark just as the door is closing. He makes it inside but his tail does not. And that's why manx cats have no tail.
I really like the colorful illustrations, and the story is fine, just a retelling of an old por quoi tale, but nothing spectacular.
I really like the colorful illustrations, and the story is fine, just a retelling of an old por quoi tale, but nothing spectacular.
November 29, 2012
This is story used to explain why the Manx cat no longer has a tail. They relate the story to The Great Flood in the Bible. Personally, I would not use this in a public school since it is related to the Bible.
May 29, 2012
Great illustrations.
June 24, 2012
Duh, it's a picture book about a marmalade Manx. It's amazing.
March 14, 2015
Lacks substance.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews