Catch Calico

by Chester Aaron

A fourteen-year-old not only suspects his grandfather is dying but is also haunted by the memories of his dead father and a wild cat named Calico.

148 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1979

About the author

Chester Aaron was a prolific American author for both children and adults, and wrote novels, stories, and memoirs. Born in 1923 in the coal-mining town of Butler, Pennsylvania, he was educated at Butler Senior High School, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and San Francisco State University. He saw combat in World War II, and was with the troops that liberated Dachau. Following publication of his first novel in 1967, he was an x-ray technician at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, CA. He joined the faculty at Saint Mary’s College, retiring as a full professor in 1997. For twenty-five years he cultivated ninety varieties of exotic garlic on his farm in Sonoma County, becoming a world-renowned expert, and publishing a number of books on the subject. He died in 2019.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content Warning: Rabies in Animals; Rabies in Humans; Suicide; Euthanasia; War Trauma; War Violence; Holocaust Victim Description; Shooting; Death; Family Death; Pet Death; Psychological Trauma; Survivor's Guilt; Gore; Medical Descriptions; Alcoholism; Mild Swearing; Blasphemy.

I personally wouldn't consider this a "children's" book, especially where sensitive children are concerned. Best for early to mid-teens. Probably directed at boys, but enjoyable for anyone who can get past the content warnings.

Personally, I feel that this entire story-line would've been better if Aaron had fleshed it out further and written it for adults rather than as a coming-of-age drama. The middle of the book drew on for such a length that the ending felt both forced and too brief.

One character's death seemed to be created purely to make a point, and without any real feeling created for that character; I didn't really care that they died, I was more annoyed by the contrivance of their death.

The cat's death was significantly more upsetting to me, and this book wasn't trying to make the cat the main character, despite the title's implication.

The tense the book was written in was also annoying, and by the time I got used to it, Aaron changed tenses.

The child constantly referring to his elders by their first name was off-putting. I imagine it was supposed to show how adult he believed he was at the ripe old age of 14, but it came across as disrespectful and flippant, especially when directed at his parents and grandparents. That he later states that he doesn't refer to a family friend and doctor by his first-name because that'd make him feel more like a father-figure than a friend was even more off-putting because it gives the impression instead that he's been encouraged to be on a first-name basis with his elders; not a fan of that kind of familiarity.

One of the character's hypocrisy towards animals, specifically wild animals, was exasperating. If the animal is dependant on you for food, comfort, shelter, etc and brings its babies to you, and snuggles or sleeps with you IT IS NOT WILD. To then say that you don't care whether it lives or dies and have no desire to put the animal out of its misery when it's suffering is irresponsible NOT "respecting the animal's wildness". I've seen too much of that kind of DISGUSTING behaviour from neighbours who don't keep their dogs fenced, and LITERALLY shrug and replace the dog immediately when it gets hit by a car RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE and eaten while it's still alive and yelping by their other dogs, saying with bored nonchalance, "That's the circle of life". WRONG. Making an animal dependant upon you and then not protecting them from dangers that are easily preventable is not natural. It's disrespectful, inhumane, heartless, and evil.

This book is great as a what-not-to-do reference or for anyone interested in the effects of rabies on humans and animals. But, in all honesty, you'd be better off reading a studybook or medical guide on rabies. By the exact quoting of classic rabies literature a la character dialogue (because laid-back, chuckling, smart-aleck, alcoholic Gramps is suddenly speaking stilted, fresh-from-Johns Hopkins medical lingo that he never speaks at any other time except to announce the dun-dun-DAH plot-twist), that's what the author did.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the spur of the moment, Dan takes his grandson, Louis, to the family cabin. It is soon apparent that something is terribly wrong. Dan is very sick, and Calico, the wild cat living near the cabin, is acting strangely. When Louis remembers that his grandfather had been at the cabin a few weeks before, he realizes that Dan’s illness may be tied to Calico’s behavior. Then Louis finds syringes and books about rabies in a crate under his grandfather’s bed. As he calls for help for his desperately ill grandfather, Louis knows that he must kill Calico.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Judy]

I picked up this book because Chester Aaron was one of my English professors at St. Mary's College.