Ghost Cat

by Helen Rushmore, Reisie Lonette (Illustrator)

According to an old Ozark mountain belief, stray cats bring bad luck, but ten-year-old Glory proves how wrong the superstition is when she befriends a lovely white cat.

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing to do with actual ghosts -- this is a realistic book about rural poverty and family life. The only ghosts are those imagined by superstitious folks. Sadly, the superstitions include blaming bad luck on cats, even really nice, smart, and well-behaved cats who do nothing but try to rescue your stupid brats from danger.

The illustrations are not memorable, although I liked this one:

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled between 4 and 5 stars because I loved this book from my childhood and those feelings sort of shaped my opinion when I reread it as an adult.

Glory is a little girl growing up in the mountains in a time when superstition was rampant and neighbors helped neighbors. When Glory finds a fluffy white cat and brings her home, she is not met with approval--and not just because she named the cat after the local ghost, Miss Nancy Rose.

This book is full of the flavor and color of the time period and place, which even as a child I remember loving (even when I didn't fully understand it). It's truly a lost treasure, and I'm happy to have it back in my collection.

[Wednesday · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would describe this as a sweet story that would do no harm for anyone to read. It tells the story of Glory, a young girl in a family of 4 children, living in a poor mountainous, rural area of the US. It's the sort of community where everybody knows and looks out for each other. An area steeped in superstition and local folklore including ghost stories. It is when Glory is exploring one of the so-called haunted spots, that she comes across the cat of the title - not a ghost at all, but a beautiful white persian cat looking for a home. That's about as ghosty as the book gets. The nicest thing about this book are the human characters - the way they act and the way they speak. I once heard a child development specialist say how she decried the simplifying of language in children's literature and how important it was to leave jargon, regional differences in vocabulary and "hard words" in writing so that children learn the flavours of the environment in which their characters move. This is the thing I enjoyed most in this book - it transported me to a place I am not familiar with but which I learned so much about through the characters speech. It's a great little story about community and coming together.

[Analynn Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this old favorite from childhood on the Internet and enjoyed revisiting the Ozarks with this fun family and Glory’s ghostly cat!

[Xyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I'm keeping the four stars I gave it earlier. Such a sweet story with a very rural setting. I kept thinking about a place like Walton's Mountain where everyone comes together to help each other when the need arises and the people work hard to scrape by. They were poor but knew how and what to do to make it and while they were not rich in funds; they were rich in family and friends.

The story starts out with curious Glory trying to see the ghost at an abandoned house. Instead of a ghost she finds a cat. The story unfolds from there. Glory is adventurous and thoughtful and sometimes willful or emotional. Her older brother, Len, is superstitious and fearful. Their younger twin siblings are very active five-year olds. Mom is strong and dad stern but loving.

This was a fun read. I learned about a few things that were supposed to be lucky and others that were supposed to be unlucky. The kids had adventures. Momma had a change of heart. When tragedy struck, the entire "neighborhood" pulled together to provide from their meager possessions.

I really enjoyed this and know the book was well loved before I found it. My copy is a discarded library edition (hardcover) The pages have been turned so many time the corners are rounded and the pages are so soft the stick together.

I wasn't sure if I should shelve this with my ghost stories, mysteries, or cat books. Overall this is a lovely fiction story about a cute cat with attitude and skills, so it's going to the cat section.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read my mom's copy of this book over and over and over in elementary school. I think it's why I always love to see old overgrown lilac bushes around dilapidated abandoned farm houses. I can just imagine the fragrance as described in this book!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a cute little story. I would have given it three stars but the constant superstitions bothered me. These people seem to believe that they can't do anything with out bringing bad luck.