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Mr Mistoffelees: The Conjuring Cat
Was there ever
A cat so clever
As magical Mr. Mistoffelees!
Following Arthur Robins' criticallly acclaimed picture book of Macavity he turns his attentions to the magical Mr. Mistoffelees with delightfully hilarious results. Perfect for ages 3+, children (and parents) will love reading aloud about the Original Conjuring Cat.
A cat so clever
As magical Mr. Mistoffelees!
Following Arthur Robins' criticallly acclaimed picture book of Macavity he turns his attentions to the magical Mr. Mistoffelees with delightfully hilarious results. Perfect for ages 3+, children (and parents) will love reading aloud about the Original Conjuring Cat.
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2015
48 people want to read
About the author
T.S. Eliot
1,084 books5,688 followersThomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. Eliot was born an American, moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at the age of 25), and became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 9, 2022
Arthur Robins adds enchanting illustrations to TS Eliot's Mr. Mistoffelees, the verse taken directly from his 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' of 1939.
Mr Mistoggelees certainly is the conjuring cat, 'There can be no doubt about that', and he makes up all his own tricks. He performs exciting illusions and also creates eccentric confusions, all of which defy his audience's belief again and again. His prestidigitation is magnificent and at legerdemain the quickness of his hands always deceives the eye.
It is even felt that the great magicians can learn something from him as he pulls doves and rabbits from his hat, is able to pick any card from a pack and is equally adept with the dice. And can he throw his voice? Well that is open to question but it is said that his voice has been heard on the roof when he curled up nice and cosy by the fire ... and even vice versa!
All of this leaves no doubt of his singular magical powers and he can even have his family searching for him in the garden when he is fast asleep under the coats in the hall. And when he performed the feat of pulling seven kittens out of his hat, it left everyone thinking 'Oh! Well I never! Did you ever Know a cat so clever ... as Magical Mr Mistoffelees?' The answer is a very definite 'No' and Arthur Robins' illustrations and TS Eliot's verse provide testimony to that fact!
Mr Mistoggelees certainly is the conjuring cat, 'There can be no doubt about that', and he makes up all his own tricks. He performs exciting illusions and also creates eccentric confusions, all of which defy his audience's belief again and again. His prestidigitation is magnificent and at legerdemain the quickness of his hands always deceives the eye.
It is even felt that the great magicians can learn something from him as he pulls doves and rabbits from his hat, is able to pick any card from a pack and is equally adept with the dice. And can he throw his voice? Well that is open to question but it is said that his voice has been heard on the roof when he curled up nice and cosy by the fire ... and even vice versa!
All of this leaves no doubt of his singular magical powers and he can even have his family searching for him in the garden when he is fast asleep under the coats in the hall. And when he performed the feat of pulling seven kittens out of his hat, it left everyone thinking 'Oh! Well I never! Did you ever Know a cat so clever ... as Magical Mr Mistoffelees?' The answer is a very definite 'No' and Arthur Robins' illustrations and TS Eliot's verse provide testimony to that fact!
April 18, 2019
T.S. Eliot with amazing, fun illustrations for children (and adults)!....what's not to like? Just saw the theatre production of CATS again, so I, of course, had to get all the associated books, CDs, etc., from the library. Enjoy!
July 24, 2018
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by British poet T. S. Eliot is a famous collection of funny cat poems. It was adapted into one of the longest-running Broadway shows, Cats by Andrew Llyod Webber in 1981.
Probably the best known poem is "Macavity: The Mystery Cat," which was the first poem to be adapted by Arthur Robins in his Old Possum Picture Books series. But my personal favorite is this one, Mr. Mistoffelees: The Conjuring Cat.
Robins captures all the whimsy of the poem and Broadway tune with his illustrations. The famous conjuring cat is on stage, dressed as a magician, and in multi-panel sequences we see him pull off classic, funny illusions. It's always hard to do this when you're singing, but there is a great opportunity here to occasionally stop and ask a child to say what happens first, next, and so on for each magic trick.
This book doesn't have a story, per se, which some parents unfamiliar with Cats or the T.S. Eliot collection may find odd. It's a character sketch. If you aren't familiar with the song, it's very easy to find online, and there are some great videos of the Broadway musical that your child may enjoy watching. If they do get hooked, you can discover many more Jellicle cats in this amazing picture book series!
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I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about singalong books: https://www.lineupthebooks.com/40-sin...
Probably the best known poem is "Macavity: The Mystery Cat," which was the first poem to be adapted by Arthur Robins in his Old Possum Picture Books series. But my personal favorite is this one, Mr. Mistoffelees: The Conjuring Cat.
Robins captures all the whimsy of the poem and Broadway tune with his illustrations. The famous conjuring cat is on stage, dressed as a magician, and in multi-panel sequences we see him pull off classic, funny illusions. It's always hard to do this when you're singing, but there is a great opportunity here to occasionally stop and ask a child to say what happens first, next, and so on for each magic trick.
This book doesn't have a story, per se, which some parents unfamiliar with Cats or the T.S. Eliot collection may find odd. It's a character sketch. If you aren't familiar with the song, it's very easy to find online, and there are some great videos of the Broadway musical that your child may enjoy watching. If they do get hooked, you can discover many more Jellicle cats in this amazing picture book series!
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about singalong books: https://www.lineupthebooks.com/40-sin...
March 8, 2018
I was delighted to spot this on the shelves as I enjoy T.S. Eliot and loved listening to a cassette tape of Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS when I was a child. Miss 3 wasn't too engaged and I think was a little bit puzzled by the book (I think I got more out of it then she did). She might have enjoyed it more in conjunction with song so I'll have to try and show it to her while listening to the song.
January 8, 2019
Cats is my favorite musical (shocker, right 😉) so when I saw these at my library, I had to read them... and if course I totally sung the song as I read it.
Wasn't a huge fan of this sloppy looking for of artwork but it's cool these picture books exist
Wasn't a huge fan of this sloppy looking for of artwork but it's cool these picture books exist
December 4, 2018
Whimsical illustrations accompany the lyrics from one of the iconic scores from Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic "Cats."
January 21, 2020
ADORABLE!
October 6, 2024
i love his cat poems - also, mistoffelees? reminded me so much auf dr. faustus' mephistopheles
September 7, 2015
Great introduction to a famous cat
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews