Witch's Cat

Matter-of-Fact Magic

by Ruth Chew

A talking cat from Brooklyn takes two kids on an adventure to a medieval castle.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Witches, Cats, Middle Grade, Magic, Young Adult

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Ruth Chew is the author of a number of popular books for young readers, including Secondhand Magic and The Wednesday Witch. She was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Washington, D.C. She studied art at the Corcoran School of Art and worked as a fashion artist. She was the mother of five children.

Reviews

[Nader Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cat that belonged to a witch, a magic slipper and time travel. What more could you want? A little thin on plot but sweet anyway.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the cute little children's books that I decided to read for fun. It's really a cute little story if you want something that's a super simple read with magic and adventure.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Witch’s Cat” is the fourth-last novel by the unique Ruth Chew. I am glad other books close her legacy because this one was aimless. Ruth stirred a pot of fun, magical ingredients without constructing a story as their vessel. There was no mission or outcome and we starkly feel the absence of any beginning, middle, and end. A sister and brother discover their Grandparents have a talking cat who is reading recipe books. Unreasonably, those living with him don’t make this connection. They think he is tumbling among books.

Their Grandma is a herb gardener. It is a very creative element, that this cat wants to replicate ointment that gives objects flight: trans-dimensional flight. He needs to fetch his original mistress from a dangerous environment, in a medieval time. With herb lore commoner in the past, we don’t know why this kitty is in modern day New York to seek spell details and ingredients; except to give modern day children this adventure. The premise is not thought out in any way but is fun. I wonder why this witch couldn’t concoct her own potion to meet the cat and live in some other future. I don’t know how he got to 1994, nor why he needed help reversing that journey.

On the subject of scattering out events that don’t mould or explain any plot: the teams disguises the witch as a lovely lady, instead of immediately using the repurposed slippers and just sailing away. In happenstance as random as it is annoying, the local menacing monarch notices her beauty and plucks her from the boat. Thus at last: we arrive at a central adventure that is about retrieving the witch from a castle. Any detail-oriented, avidly-reading child would notice the lack of substance, even if these moving parts are entertaining.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly and Matt's Grandma and Grandpa Dorrity have a new pet cat. When Holly and Matt go to visit, they discover that the cat can read and talk. Mr. Dorrity just thinks that the cat likes to take books off the bookshelf and play with them. Albert, the cat, tells the children that he has been trying to find the right combination of herbs that will send him back home. When Matt accidentally slips on herbs that Albert gathered from Mrs. Dorrity's garden, Matt’s slipper begins to grow. Holly, Matt, and Albert jump in the slipper and float back in time. They find Albert’s owner, Nell Fisher, hiding in a tree. Nell has been accused of being a witch. When the magical slipper changes Nell into a beautiful woman, she is taken to the Earl of Garrick’s castle. Holly and Matt follow. Holly wraps Albert up like a baby to disguise him because a black cat is considered bad luck. When the cat is discovered, Holly, Matt, Nell, and Albert escape in the slipper and return to the Dorrity’s house.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Melanie Bracco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl and boy named Holly and Matthew come to stay with their grandparents in Brooklyn. The grandparents found a black cat named Albert in the grandmother's herb garden, but what they don't know is he can talk and read and is actually owned by a witch. Albert has been reading books trying to mix the right herbs together to use magic to help out a good friend of his who's in trouble.
A cute premise to be sure, but the writing could've been a little better, the story a little more substance to it. I do however love the cover, and also the book's black and white illustrations.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I actually read all the Ruth Chew books...but I think I did. And I think they were awesome.

[Angie Lisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Chew was one of my favorite authors as a kid - I still enjoy the magic woven in her stories!

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

a cat was living with someone and was sometimes a witches cat.it was magical cat.it made a slipper grow.auryn 9yo

[Amy]

Abandoned halfway through. Wasn't her thing.