The Long Wait

by Budge Wilson, Eugenie Fernandes (Illustrations)

Deirdre did not have a sleek and velvet coat. She did not have a lean and graceful body. She did not walk like a queen with her head in the air. But to the Wilsons, Deirdre was a very special cat. Whenever they came home, she was always there, waiting on the braided mat in the front hall. Then, one year a terrible thing happened.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Budge was educated in Halifax schools and at Dalhousie University (degree in Philosophy and Psychology, Diploma in Education, Physical Education teaching certificate). She did two years of graduate work in English at the University of Toronto, and worked at the Institute of Child Study (U. of T.) for four years--filing, illustrating, editing, writing. She illustrated three books for the University of Toronto Press, worked for several years as a freelance commercial artist and child photographer, and was a fitness instructor from 1968 to 1989. She has been writing juvenile and adult fiction since 1978, with her first book published in 1984. Her work has been published in ten countries and in seven languages.

After living in Ontario for over twenty-five years, Budge and Alan returned to Nova Scotia in 1989, and live in a small fishing village on the South Shore of the province.

Reviews

[BRNTerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a black cat named Deirdre who's on vacation with her family. Her owner opens her cage in the car to check on her and she escapes! After a month, she shows up at someone's home and is returned to her owners. It's not said whether Deirdre enjoyed her time away from her family, just that she hated being in a cage.

This story had no moral or lesson to be learned. I don't think I've never read a children's book where specific real places were mentioned like they were in here, several places in Canada. I also don't like the faces on some of the family members.