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The Blue Cat
A boy stood in the playground under the big fig tree. 'He can't speak English,' the children whispered.
Sydney, 1942. The war is coming to Australia - not only with the threat of bombardment, but also the arrival of refugees from Europe. Dreamy Columba's world is growing larger. She is drawn to Ellery, the little boy from far away, and, together with her highly practical best friend Hilda, the three children embark on an adventure through the harbour-side streets - a journey of discovery and terror, in pursuit of the mysterious blue cat ...
Sydney, 1942. The war is coming to Australia - not only with the threat of bombardment, but also the arrival of refugees from Europe. Dreamy Columba's world is growing larger. She is drawn to Ellery, the little boy from far away, and, together with her highly practical best friend Hilda, the three children embark on an adventure through the harbour-side streets - a journey of discovery and terror, in pursuit of the mysterious blue cat ...
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2017
3 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Ursula Dubosarsky
100 books99 followersUrsula Dubosarsky is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. About The Golden Day, her first book with Candlewick Press, she says, "The little girls watch, wonder, respond, change, and grow — and then their childhood is gone, forever. This element of the story, I suppose, is at least partly autobiographical. But, as I say — all of our teachers come home safe and sound in the end." Ursula Dubosarsky lives in Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
June 2, 2021
Ursula Dubosarsky’s novels are ostensibly for children. The main characters are certainly young, but the books’ historical events and slight plots might prevent them from being entirely appealing to the targeted audience. They are mysterious books—atmospheric, dreamlike, luminous, distinctive. Interspersed throughout, Dubosarsky includes photographs, snippets of news articles, and fragments of government documents that relate to her characters’ experiences. I always want to read her books and can barely put them down once I begin. They remind me of the strangeness I was aware of and trying to sort out in my own childhood.
The Blue Cat is set in Sydney in 1942 and focuses on Columba, an imaginative only child who lives with her parents, next door to two elderly twin sisters, the talkative, social Hazel and the retiring, harp-playing Marguerite. This is a time of fear and menace in Sydney. There are regular air raid practices, water rations, warships in the harbour, and American soldiers encamped in a local park. The Japanese have begun to bomb the northern part of Australia, and many frightened parents have sent their children to stay in the country, where it’s believed to be safer. Amidst all this, a steel-grey cat, a Russian blue, follows Hazel home one night. She introduces the animal to Columba, whose first thought is to pet him. He’s not at all tame, won’t allow himself to be touched or held, and, according to Hazel, was likely tossed overboard by sailors on one of the ships. He comes and goes as he pleases. At one point, he disappears, and Columba, along with her busybody, know-it-all friend, Hilda, and a new schoolmate, Ellery, go looking for him in Sydney’s Luna Park.
Columba’s fascination with Ellery, who is very clean, very white, very small, and unable to speak any English, is the focus of the book. He is brought to school each day by his formally dressed, bearded father. When, over tea one night, Columba tells her mother and Hazel of the unusual new boy at school, who speaks no English—indeed, who doesn’t speak at all—the women refer indirectly to the terrible things going on in Europe. This is the first Columba’s ever heard about “Jewish” people, and she asks the adults to clarify. It’s a religion whose people believe in Moses, says Hazel. But Columba believes in Moses, too, she says; they’ve learned about him in scripture class at school!—the baby in a basket among the bullrushes.
Hazel mentions the earlier arrival in town of another child, a little girl, also from Europe who had, for a time, received letters from her mother in a camp, but the letters had suddenly stopped. Columba, who’s been filled in on Hitler’s malevolence by Hilda, knows that the girl’s mother is dead. She wants to console Ellery, whom she has seen crying at school. She has instinctively known that his are tears of separation and grief. She decides to write a letter to him,
This is a story about war, displacement, loss, and friendship. Indirectly, it is also about the Holocaust. The novel ends with a poignant poem by Friedrich Rückert from his cycle of poems about the loss of two of his children, which Mahler later set to music as Kindertotenliede, Songs on the Death of Children.
I often think they have only just gone out
And soon they will come home.
It’s a beautiful day! don’t be afraid.
They have gone for a long, long walk.
Yes, they have only just stepped out,
And soon they will come home.
Don't be afraid, the day is fine.
They have gone for a walk, up the high hill.
They are just a little ahead of us
And are not coming home yet.
We will find them there, on that high hill
In the sunshine.
The Blue Cat is set in Sydney in 1942 and focuses on Columba, an imaginative only child who lives with her parents, next door to two elderly twin sisters, the talkative, social Hazel and the retiring, harp-playing Marguerite. This is a time of fear and menace in Sydney. There are regular air raid practices, water rations, warships in the harbour, and American soldiers encamped in a local park. The Japanese have begun to bomb the northern part of Australia, and many frightened parents have sent their children to stay in the country, where it’s believed to be safer. Amidst all this, a steel-grey cat, a Russian blue, follows Hazel home one night. She introduces the animal to Columba, whose first thought is to pet him. He’s not at all tame, won’t allow himself to be touched or held, and, according to Hazel, was likely tossed overboard by sailors on one of the ships. He comes and goes as he pleases. At one point, he disappears, and Columba, along with her busybody, know-it-all friend, Hilda, and a new schoolmate, Ellery, go looking for him in Sydney’s Luna Park.
Columba’s fascination with Ellery, who is very clean, very white, very small, and unable to speak any English, is the focus of the book. He is brought to school each day by his formally dressed, bearded father. When, over tea one night, Columba tells her mother and Hazel of the unusual new boy at school, who speaks no English—indeed, who doesn’t speak at all—the women refer indirectly to the terrible things going on in Europe. This is the first Columba’s ever heard about “Jewish” people, and she asks the adults to clarify. It’s a religion whose people believe in Moses, says Hazel. But Columba believes in Moses, too, she says; they’ve learned about him in scripture class at school!—the baby in a basket among the bullrushes.
Hazel mentions the earlier arrival in town of another child, a little girl, also from Europe who had, for a time, received letters from her mother in a camp, but the letters had suddenly stopped. Columba, who’s been filled in on Hitler’s malevolence by Hilda, knows that the girl’s mother is dead. She wants to console Ellery, whom she has seen crying at school. She has instinctively known that his are tears of separation and grief. She decides to write a letter to him,
This is a story about war, displacement, loss, and friendship. Indirectly, it is also about the Holocaust. The novel ends with a poignant poem by Friedrich Rückert from his cycle of poems about the loss of two of his children, which Mahler later set to music as Kindertotenliede, Songs on the Death of Children.
I often think they have only just gone out
And soon they will come home.
It’s a beautiful day! don’t be afraid.
They have gone for a long, long walk.
Yes, they have only just stepped out,
And soon they will come home.
Don't be afraid, the day is fine.
They have gone for a walk, up the high hill.
They are just a little ahead of us
And are not coming home yet.
We will find them there, on that high hill
In the sunshine.
April 16, 2020
2.5 stars
I have never read a World War Two book set in Australia. There were two things I liked about this book. 1. The cat was a Russian blue and my old cat Smudge was a Russian blue and it made me happy thinking about him. 2. It made me think about what my nan would have lived through as a young girl in Australia during the war - she only sometimes mentions things, but this made me try to viscerally think about what it was like for her.
It was also pretty cool to read about Luna Park, a place that still exists and has much similar to its old self.
I have never read a World War Two book set in Australia. There were two things I liked about this book. 1. The cat was a Russian blue and my old cat Smudge was a Russian blue and it made me happy thinking about him. 2. It made me think about what my nan would have lived through as a young girl in Australia during the war - she only sometimes mentions things, but this made me try to viscerally think about what it was like for her.
It was also pretty cool to read about Luna Park, a place that still exists and has much similar to its old self.
April 26, 2020
What an unusual book! I was quite enjoying it - the gentle, emotive style, the nostalgia, whether Columba would discover Ellery's story etc. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of all the source material throughout the book, and the brief explanation of primary sources at the end. I also loved the part set in Luna Park - which apparently had changed very little between the 1940's and my memories of it in the early 1980's!
But then (a bit like the Wild Mouse at Luna Park), it took an extremely abrupt left turn into fantasy, and then unexpectedly stopped short, with little resolution and many unanswered questions. Feels like it needed to be one-third longer.
But then (a bit like the Wild Mouse at Luna Park), it took an extremely abrupt left turn into fantasy, and then unexpectedly stopped short, with little resolution and many unanswered questions. Feels like it needed to be one-third longer.
March 16, 2017
Atmosphere. That's where this book excels. If you want to step back into a dreamlike state of what life for a child in Sydney might have been like in 1942 during the war, this book is perfect. Beautifully written.
February 6, 2017
Affecting and unexpected.
August 13, 2017
Ethereal and elegant, The Blue Cat slinks through your imagination with an almost unearthly inference. Columba's 11-year-0ld take on a world in mid-war upheaval is refreshingly uncontaminated and jolly. This is a captivating tale of two worlds colliding, an example of one of those brief chapters in the story of your life that will remain with you forever.
February 8, 2021
Overall, the best thing I liked about this book is the way the author described settings, such as what Miss Hazel's house looked like, and also the characters and how they spoke and dressed. This ability to craft a picture of a scene is, I feel, an important component of writing a book, as it helps me visualise the setting and characters inside my head and walk in their world. The character clearly likes cats, and there are several references through the book to blue cat breeds. I am a cat person, so I appreciated the cats we occasionally saw pawing through the breadth of the book. I feel like the strongest moment in the book, when the plot actually started to move along, was when they went to Coney Island to look for the missing cat.
Another thing I enjoyed was how well the author brought out life during WW2 in Sydney, Australia, through a child's eyes, trying to grapple and come to terms with the war going on across the oceans in other lands, especially Europe. The author is not afraid to show us the realities of the war taking people's loved ones or interning them in prison camps, though this is through other characters' reports.
Unfortunately, there is not much else I can point to as the book's strengths, and it's really missing a sense of adventure and a strong plot-line that would grab me; if I, a full grown adult who dreams of being an author one day once she's done all her undergrad and postgrad geology studies, found the story boring and tedious to plod through, then I feel many children would feel that too. Children are very critical readers and if it doesn't capture their interest, they *will* put it down and not bother to finish it. They need a VERY strong Plot A, and possibly one or two subplots running through as well, or attention will drift away to a better read. That said, I felt that the character interactions and the growing friendship with Ellery started to pick up a lot more about 2/3 of the way through the book, and I began to enjoy it a bit more than I had at first.
As for the pictures, I felt like the book would have been fine without most of the images and documents, however, I personally liked some of the photos (such as of the famous star) and old-timey drawings, but for the most part, the book would've been okay without them. I also found that the sudden font change and size for Ellery's father really took me out because it was un-needed (unless it's because I was reading an ebook version of it and it was something quirky only for that.) I personally found one or two of the articles interesting, like the one about air raid warning signals.
Overall, I feel like this book had a lot of potential to be much more exciting and really sustain a strong plot, including a friendship between Ellery and Columba, and I feel that Columba wasn't much of an active protagonist, reacting rather than taking action--that was clearly the realm of her friend, Hilda, who drove the plot to find the missing cat along very late in the book. Unfortunately, because of the slow start and muted plot energy, I feel like many young kids would give up on the book before they reached anything that actually got exciting. However, the ending I found very confusing and it left me unsatisfied and just wondering what had happened after all.
Another thing I enjoyed was how well the author brought out life during WW2 in Sydney, Australia, through a child's eyes, trying to grapple and come to terms with the war going on across the oceans in other lands, especially Europe. The author is not afraid to show us the realities of the war taking people's loved ones or interning them in prison camps, though this is through other characters' reports.
Unfortunately, there is not much else I can point to as the book's strengths, and it's really missing a sense of adventure and a strong plot-line that would grab me; if I, a full grown adult who dreams of being an author one day once she's done all her undergrad and postgrad geology studies, found the story boring and tedious to plod through, then I feel many children would feel that too. Children are very critical readers and if it doesn't capture their interest, they *will* put it down and not bother to finish it. They need a VERY strong Plot A, and possibly one or two subplots running through as well, or attention will drift away to a better read. That said, I felt that the character interactions and the growing friendship with Ellery started to pick up a lot more about 2/3 of the way through the book, and I began to enjoy it a bit more than I had at first.
As for the pictures, I felt like the book would have been fine without most of the images and documents, however, I personally liked some of the photos (such as of the famous star) and old-timey drawings, but for the most part, the book would've been okay without them. I also found that the sudden font change and size for Ellery's father really took me out because it was un-needed (unless it's because I was reading an ebook version of it and it was something quirky only for that.) I personally found one or two of the articles interesting, like the one about air raid warning signals.
Overall, I feel like this book had a lot of potential to be much more exciting and really sustain a strong plot, including a friendship between Ellery and Columba, and I feel that Columba wasn't much of an active protagonist, reacting rather than taking action--that was clearly the realm of her friend, Hilda, who drove the plot to find the missing cat along very late in the book. Unfortunately, because of the slow start and muted plot energy, I feel like many young kids would give up on the book before they reached anything that actually got exciting. However, the ending I found very confusing and it left me unsatisfied and just wondering what had happened after all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2017
I received a copy of this title from Allen & Unwin for review.
Ten Second Synopsis:
Columbia is intrigued by the new boy at school who has come to Australia from Europe to escape the war.
The Blue Cat is told from the point of view of Columba, a young girl whose world is slowly being encroached upon by the war. Everything that her headmaster assures the children could never possibly happen, seems to be coming about. Her friend's brothers are stuck as prisoners of war. Air raid sirens interrupt otherwise lazy afternoons. The spectre of lost mothers and lost homes looms large in the figure of Ellery, a German boy who has come to attend Columba's school.
There is certainly an atmosphere of anticipation seeping through this novel and I was constantly poised for some significant action to take place. Rather, the story unfolds gently through Columba's interactions with her brash, larger-than-life friend Hilda and the silent Ellery.
Atmospheric as Dubosarsky's writing may be, I couldn't help but feel there was something missing from this book. The first candidate for the MIA label is the titular cat - he makes the briefest of brief appearances and doesn't seem, as the blurb suggests, to be keeping any secrets at all. Rather, he seems to be acting like an ordinary cat: flighty, unpredictable and completely indifferent as to whether humans pay attention to him or not.
The second thing I felt that was missing here was some significant event to provide a point around which Columba or one of the other characters could experience some growth or change or...something. Columba, as a narrator, is more of a bystander than an agent in her own life and while there are plenty of us who live through certain historical events without having them touch us in a significant way, I'm not sure that this perspective is the most effective upon which to base a protagonist.
One thing I did love about the book was the inclusion of primary source materials. Instead of illustrations, every few pages a newspaper article, photograph or advertisement from the time pops up and I found these far more interesting and engaging than the actual story. I also adored the poem by Friedrich Ruckert that was included (with a translation from the original German) as an afterword.
As I mentioned before, I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen and then...it just finished. There is a certain amount of pathos in Columba's growing understanding of loss and change, but I'm not sure that young readers would necessarily pick up on the subtleties of this. I finished the book not hating it, but wondering why I had bothered, because none of the characters seemed to have undergone any significant change in outlook or personality by the end of the story. It just felt like a way of passing the time.
Ten Second Synopsis:
Columbia is intrigued by the new boy at school who has come to Australia from Europe to escape the war.
The Blue Cat is told from the point of view of Columba, a young girl whose world is slowly being encroached upon by the war. Everything that her headmaster assures the children could never possibly happen, seems to be coming about. Her friend's brothers are stuck as prisoners of war. Air raid sirens interrupt otherwise lazy afternoons. The spectre of lost mothers and lost homes looms large in the figure of Ellery, a German boy who has come to attend Columba's school.
There is certainly an atmosphere of anticipation seeping through this novel and I was constantly poised for some significant action to take place. Rather, the story unfolds gently through Columba's interactions with her brash, larger-than-life friend Hilda and the silent Ellery.
Atmospheric as Dubosarsky's writing may be, I couldn't help but feel there was something missing from this book. The first candidate for the MIA label is the titular cat - he makes the briefest of brief appearances and doesn't seem, as the blurb suggests, to be keeping any secrets at all. Rather, he seems to be acting like an ordinary cat: flighty, unpredictable and completely indifferent as to whether humans pay attention to him or not.
The second thing I felt that was missing here was some significant event to provide a point around which Columba or one of the other characters could experience some growth or change or...something. Columba, as a narrator, is more of a bystander than an agent in her own life and while there are plenty of us who live through certain historical events without having them touch us in a significant way, I'm not sure that this perspective is the most effective upon which to base a protagonist.
One thing I did love about the book was the inclusion of primary source materials. Instead of illustrations, every few pages a newspaper article, photograph or advertisement from the time pops up and I found these far more interesting and engaging than the actual story. I also adored the poem by Friedrich Ruckert that was included (with a translation from the original German) as an afterword.
As I mentioned before, I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen and then...it just finished. There is a certain amount of pathos in Columba's growing understanding of loss and change, but I'm not sure that young readers would necessarily pick up on the subtleties of this. I finished the book not hating it, but wondering why I had bothered, because none of the characters seemed to have undergone any significant change in outlook or personality by the end of the story. It just felt like a way of passing the time.
December 16, 2017
This is a beautiful book of evocative language, incredible imagery and rich symbolism. Set in Sydney in 1942, The Blue Cat is a deceptively simple story of a young girl, Columba, her best friend, Hilda and a young Jewish refugee, Ellory. It is the story of Australian school aged children during World War 2. It is a story of small mischiefs and big hopes, tinged with the fear of war that occasionally enroaches into their world. Through Columba's story is woven a thread of a story of a mysterious blue cat who followed her neighbour home and then disappeared.
Marketed as a book for young readers, I suspect that many will miss the depth of the book. Even reading reviews here on Goodreads, this is quite evident. For this reason, I suspect it will become a classroom novel, although I hope that that does not take the joy and enchantment from it.
I really wish that I had the chance to share this book with my dad. He was also a wartime immigrant to Sydney, not from Europe but an English boy from Hong Kong. I would have loved to ask him his opinion. So much of this story reminds me of things that he said about his time as a young child in Sydney.
Dubosarsky's love of history is evident. Photographs, ephemera and other memorabilia illustrate the book, adding an extra dimension to it. Indeed, I feel the need to reread it to better understand these layers.
Marketed as a book for young readers, I suspect that many will miss the depth of the book. Even reading reviews here on Goodreads, this is quite evident. For this reason, I suspect it will become a classroom novel, although I hope that that does not take the joy and enchantment from it.
I really wish that I had the chance to share this book with my dad. He was also a wartime immigrant to Sydney, not from Europe but an English boy from Hong Kong. I would have loved to ask him his opinion. So much of this story reminds me of things that he said about his time as a young child in Sydney.
Dubosarsky's love of history is evident. Photographs, ephemera and other memorabilia illustrate the book, adding an extra dimension to it. Indeed, I feel the need to reread it to better understand these layers.
March 14, 2018
Like listening to stories of old times, making connections with the now you know and the old of where the character is, this story places the reader in the world of a child in 1942 Sydney with the threat of war imminently present. This is a book that I feel needs the joint effort of a book club to truly uncover the mystery of the cat and the boy who cannot speak any English. Loved the detail of historical artifacts - even more details a book club could explore with much discussion!
August 5, 2022
this book is trash. there is no plot, the characters are awful and the ending reminded me of the “how i met your mother” ending where everything is just shit and the audience wants to kill themselves.
there’s a part in the book that i’ll remember for the rest of my god awful life and that is the tea scene.
our main character, Columba, is a christian. and while there is nothing wrong with religion or what other people believe in, i can’t support your actions when you try to force your religion onto others.
Columba’s neighbours are not christian and explicitly said they didn’t want to baptise their baby. Columba is appalled by this but instead of respecting their wishes, she said “fuck it” and in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT she breaks into her neighbours house, creeps up to the baby mother gothel style and POURS HOT TEA OVER THE BABYS’ HEAD AND BAPTISES THEM. like respect where??? boundaries where???? safety where???
not only that but there’s this boy that’s introduced about 1/3 through the book. the boys mom is dead but Columba PRETENDS TO BE HIS MOM AND WRITES TO HIM tricking the poor boy into believing that his mom is alive. i’m unsure if he figures out that it was Columba writing to him but it doesn’t change the fact that what Columba did was wrong.
essentially, all the characters are trash.
the ending of the book felt like the author just gave up. it’s like they saw that they had enough pages to get this mistake of a book published and they were like “oh well” and gave up. this book like like one of those IT WAS ALL A DREAM GUYS LOOK AT YOU BEING ALL EMOTIONALLY INVESTED type shit except no one was emotionally invested. i don’t even know what happened in the end but i assure you it’s not good.
don’t read this book guys
there’s a part in the book that i’ll remember for the rest of my god awful life and that is the tea scene.
our main character, Columba, is a christian. and while there is nothing wrong with religion or what other people believe in, i can’t support your actions when you try to force your religion onto others.
Columba’s neighbours are not christian and explicitly said they didn’t want to baptise their baby. Columba is appalled by this but instead of respecting their wishes, she said “fuck it” and in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT she breaks into her neighbours house, creeps up to the baby mother gothel style and POURS HOT TEA OVER THE BABYS’ HEAD AND BAPTISES THEM. like respect where??? boundaries where???? safety where???
not only that but there’s this boy that’s introduced about 1/3 through the book. the boys mom is dead but Columba PRETENDS TO BE HIS MOM AND WRITES TO HIM tricking the poor boy into believing that his mom is alive. i’m unsure if he figures out that it was Columba writing to him but it doesn’t change the fact that what Columba did was wrong.
essentially, all the characters are trash.
the ending of the book felt like the author just gave up. it’s like they saw that they had enough pages to get this mistake of a book published and they were like “oh well” and gave up. this book like like one of those IT WAS ALL A DREAM GUYS LOOK AT YOU BEING ALL EMOTIONALLY INVESTED type shit except no one was emotionally invested. i don’t even know what happened in the end but i assure you it’s not good.
don’t read this book guys
December 27, 2018
This was a complete impulse pick up from the library after I needed a book with a creature name in the title for a book challenge. This was short and the summary sounded interesting so I picked it up.
Columba is living in Sydney in 1942 when a little boy, Ellery, comes to her school from Europe. He doesn't speak any English but Columba befriends him anyway. Interwoven with the texts are historical documents and photos from the time itself, lending a grounding air to the book which has such wonderful imagery. Throughout it all is the blue cat who we are never quite sure is good or bad.
This book is best described as vague, but in the best possible way. Columba is a dreamer, but she is also a child who picks up what the adults say but never knows the full truth. She can only guess at what they mean but, like with most children, she picks up on the atmosphere of her parents and society very well. In Sydney, Australia in 1942, they thought they were soon going to be invaded by the Japanese. Many of their young men are at war and the news they were getting from Europe and the Pacific wasn't good. While Columba never fully addresses this, the writing makes it clear that there is an underlying tension to the dreaminess of childhood. There is always something under the surface of what Columba is seeing and no one ever gets the complete picture.
This is definitely a book I want to reread, even if only to see whether I can catch certain things which I missed the first time. 4 stars!
Columba is living in Sydney in 1942 when a little boy, Ellery, comes to her school from Europe. He doesn't speak any English but Columba befriends him anyway. Interwoven with the texts are historical documents and photos from the time itself, lending a grounding air to the book which has such wonderful imagery. Throughout it all is the blue cat who we are never quite sure is good or bad.
This book is best described as vague, but in the best possible way. Columba is a dreamer, but she is also a child who picks up what the adults say but never knows the full truth. She can only guess at what they mean but, like with most children, she picks up on the atmosphere of her parents and society very well. In Sydney, Australia in 1942, they thought they were soon going to be invaded by the Japanese. Many of their young men are at war and the news they were getting from Europe and the Pacific wasn't good. While Columba never fully addresses this, the writing makes it clear that there is an underlying tension to the dreaminess of childhood. There is always something under the surface of what Columba is seeing and no one ever gets the complete picture.
This is definitely a book I want to reread, even if only to see whether I can catch certain things which I missed the first time. 4 stars!
May 23, 2017
The air raid siren wails throughout Sydney harbour while American Warships dapple across the horizon. The war has reached the Australian shoreline with the Japanese military threatening a hostile destruction of the land. For Columba this is simply how we survive, we live in each moment.
While the city of Paris falls to the Germanic forces, European refugees are migrating to Australia, fractured and displaced by conflict. Ellery is a Jewish boy, withdrawn and unable to verbally communicate. Children are remarkably resilient and Columba was a wonderfully compassionate young girl and curiously, approaches Ellery.
Ellery and Columba engage in apprehensive smiles and amiable silences, a tentative companionship leading to adventure. Columba is influenced by friend Hilda, a young girl fond of telling tales and repeating rumours. I found Hilda's character quite manipulate and relentless, insisting Ellery has migrated from Germany where his mother had perished, a casualty of war. The narrative being told through the narration of a young girl although charming, is unreliable.
At the essence of the narration is a stray Blue Cat, suspected to have escaped from the Warships dappled throughout the harbour. The role of the feline is of little significance, temporarily residing at an elderly neighbours residence when it disappears into the night. Is the Blue Cat mere symbolism for a greater relevance? Bringing communities together? The infusion of magical realism felt incoherent and as though an integral aspect of the storyline was absent, creating an incredibly abrupt ending.
The Blue Cat is beautifully written, lyrical and delicate, within the nineteen forties atmospheric Sydney harbour. Although the narrative required direction, author Ursula Dubosarsky has created a wonderfully Australian ambiance, breathing life into our historical city landscapes.
While the city of Paris falls to the Germanic forces, European refugees are migrating to Australia, fractured and displaced by conflict. Ellery is a Jewish boy, withdrawn and unable to verbally communicate. Children are remarkably resilient and Columba was a wonderfully compassionate young girl and curiously, approaches Ellery.
I had never heard Ellery laugh before, not out loud. I loved the sound, it filled me up. It tinkled like a magic bird.
Ellery and Columba engage in apprehensive smiles and amiable silences, a tentative companionship leading to adventure. Columba is influenced by friend Hilda, a young girl fond of telling tales and repeating rumours. I found Hilda's character quite manipulate and relentless, insisting Ellery has migrated from Germany where his mother had perished, a casualty of war. The narrative being told through the narration of a young girl although charming, is unreliable.
At the essence of the narration is a stray Blue Cat, suspected to have escaped from the Warships dappled throughout the harbour. The role of the feline is of little significance, temporarily residing at an elderly neighbours residence when it disappears into the night. Is the Blue Cat mere symbolism for a greater relevance? Bringing communities together? The infusion of magical realism felt incoherent and as though an integral aspect of the storyline was absent, creating an incredibly abrupt ending.
The Blue Cat is beautifully written, lyrical and delicate, within the nineteen forties atmospheric Sydney harbour. Although the narrative required direction, author Ursula Dubosarsky has created a wonderfully Australian ambiance, breathing life into our historical city landscapes.
November 9, 2021
Note: 3.5 stars
The Blue Cat is set in Sydney, Australia, in 1942. Singapore has fallen, bombs have been dropped on Darwin and it seems as though the Japanese may reach Australia.
We see the war through the eyes of three children, Columba and Hilda who live in Sydney and Ellery, who is a refugee from Germany.
Like all this author's books, the writing is beautiful. I particularly liked the inclusion of photographic source material - the author wanted us to see things through the eyes of the children, things that they would have seen themselves at the time. So there are photos of Sydney Harbour with the battleships, movie posters, illustrations from books they were reading. I think this really added to the story, especially for children reading the book.
I was just not sure where this book was going. There seemed to be no particular storyline, it was more like vignettes into the childrens' lives. And it ended quite abruptly.
Still an interesting look into wartime at home from a child's perspective.
The Blue Cat is set in Sydney, Australia, in 1942. Singapore has fallen, bombs have been dropped on Darwin and it seems as though the Japanese may reach Australia.
We see the war through the eyes of three children, Columba and Hilda who live in Sydney and Ellery, who is a refugee from Germany.
Like all this author's books, the writing is beautiful. I particularly liked the inclusion of photographic source material - the author wanted us to see things through the eyes of the children, things that they would have seen themselves at the time. So there are photos of Sydney Harbour with the battleships, movie posters, illustrations from books they were reading. I think this really added to the story, especially for children reading the book.
I was just not sure where this book was going. There seemed to be no particular storyline, it was more like vignettes into the childrens' lives. And it ended quite abruptly.
Still an interesting look into wartime at home from a child's perspective.
May 10, 2017
Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, however, the review is entirely my own opinion on the book and was not influenced in any way. I liked this book. I think for the age group it's aimed towards, it's really well written and a really interesting story. I will say though that the ending came faster than I expected and it ended really suddenly, which was the only thing I didn't quite like about it. Overall though, it was a really good book and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.
February 25, 2018
This is a lovely slice of life from a child’s point of view; school age at the start of world war 2 and growing up in Neutral Bay. It is a beautifully written and sensitively told story that is definitely worth the couple of hours it takes to read it. I loved this book and place it beside the boy in the striped pajamas as one of those insightful tales that when told from a child’s perspective makes one think differently about some of the issues we faced then and now.
April 14, 2018
Another Dubosarsky and this is for older readers and is the story of a friendship of a young Australian girl and a Jewish refugee boy during world war two.
Told without revealing everything, and with remarkable illustrations which are actual pictures of things of the time, this book is very effective in telling a story and learning about the time period.
Beautifully written and very effective, with a satisfying ending.
Told without revealing everything, and with remarkable illustrations which are actual pictures of things of the time, this book is very effective in telling a story and learning about the time period.
Beautifully written and very effective, with a satisfying ending.
July 1, 2017
This book was a story about being a child during WW2 Sydney and contained some interesting primary source details! The atmosphere of the book is amazing and the story gently unfolds but you do get to the end of the book and it suddenly ends leaving you with unanswered questions - despite this it is an enjoyable read!
January 20, 2020
Spoilers!!!
Columba was a young girl when World War two started. She talks about her experience in Australia such as the drought, bomb threats, blackouts, the threat of invasion and meeting Ellery a German and a mysterious stray blue cat. Columba tries to make sense of what’s happening around her.
Columba was a young girl when World War two started. She talks about her experience in Australia such as the drought, bomb threats, blackouts, the threat of invasion and meeting Ellery a German and a mysterious stray blue cat. Columba tries to make sense of what’s happening around her.
April 12, 2021
The end feels like the author ran out of time, it did not explain well what happened to the main character and did not feel the story was truly concluded. I think the author would have done better if this was written for an older audience so it could have been longed are really explored the people and themes it portrayed.
The sources included were a nice touch.
The sources included were a nice touch.
May 22, 2024
This is a book targeted to ‘young adults’ and I realised that when borrowing from our library. It is set in an area with which I am familiar which always adds enjoyment to reading. There are several sections which promised a more in-depth concept and I would be interested in reading a book by this author aimed at an adult readership if there is one.
August 19, 2017
A beautifully written story about Australia during the second World War set in Sydney. Written through the eyes of a young 12 year old girl and her fascination and friendship with a newcomer to her school from Europe.
April 6, 2024
This was the most enjoyable of the three of her books that I have read over the last week or so, but it still wasn't as enjoyable as I expected it to be. I just don't think her writing style is for me.
May 21, 2024
I didn't really like the ending and if this book was meant to be an anti war book I don't think it did it's job very well - it was a lot like an unfinished primary school narrative that had a lot of potential that wasn't explored.
May 11, 2017
I won this beautifully written story in a goodreads giveaway. I was totally immersed in the story from the very first word.
June 6, 2017
Love this author's writing. Lovely evocative piece. Educational seeing govt documents pertaining to WW2 regulations for Australian civilians. Shown, not told. Enjoyed this very much.
September 29, 2017
I would recommend this book to young people exploring life in Australia, particularly Sydney during WW2. No kids on computers or phones, just soft hot summers playing and exploring their world.
January 3, 2018
A strange, whimsical story about life as a child in Sydney during World War 2. The significance of the cat was a little lost on me. I loved the inclusion of historical photographs and documents.
March 4, 2018
3.5 stars, it was really cute!!!!
September 19, 2019
Sweet, short story told exceptionally well.
Could have been padded out a bit towards the end, especially when the war got closer to Sydney.
Could have been padded out a bit towards the end, especially when the war got closer to Sydney.
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