The Broken Cat

by Lynne Rae Perkins

There are times when hearing a familiar story -- even a story about how your mother fell and broke her arm when she was a little girl -- can be comforting. And so it was for Andy, and for his cat, Frank. Because the important thing is that injuries heal. When they have healed, they become stories -- and sometimes a story with a happy ending is exactly what is needed. If you are looking for the perfect book about love and families and intergenerational support (to say nothing of cats), look no further.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Lynne Rae Perkins is the author of several novels, including her most recent Newbery Award winning book, Criss Cross. She enjoys working in her studio, being with friends, watching her kids grow, and watching her husband, Bill, chase their dog around town.

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story to share with children about broken bones and cats getting ill/sore from a cat fight.
Good medical story to share so children understand what Doctors and Veterinarians may do.

[Mary Sesar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a cat who is hurt and the family is waiting at the vet so that the cat can get checked. In the process of waiting, the grandmother and mother tell the little boy of the time the mother had broken her arm while riding the bike down a hill. They tell him how she got better to keep his spirits up about the cat getting better.
I think this book is a good read. It's a story inside of a story, which is pretty cool. It could teach children to look to the bright side of things and always try to think of how things will be okay at rough times.

[Luvy Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute story is about a mom and her young son and their cat. The mom shared a story of how she broke her arm and how that changed things for her. The little boy brings his cat to the vet and they find out the cat is hurt and has to have stitches. The little boy relates what happened to his mom to what is happening to the cat, which makes the little boy feel better.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a story about a broken cat, the cat had very little to do with the plot. Frank the cat is at the vet after getting into a fight with another cat. Andy, Frank’s boy, is with him and is worried. Andy’s mom recalls a story about breaking her arm as a child and reassures Andy that everything will be okay.

[Mary Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn’t a lot of detail to the plot, and Frank the cat had no backstory. The jumping around of the timeline could also be a bit confusing to younger kids.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much a story about a cat as it is one about a boy's mother, grandma and aunt retelling the story of when Mom broke her arm as a child.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ailing feline with an unknown affliction is a big source of worry for any cat owner, and it's no different for young Andy when he brings his gray cat Frank to the veterinarian after the animal spends an uncharacteristically motionless night in bed, its lack of responsiveness causing Andy to wonder from time to time if Frank were even breathing. As Andy, his mother, Aunt Cookie, and Andy's grandmother wait in the lobby of the vet's office for Frank's turn to be evaluated, Andy seeks peripheral solace in a retelling of his mother's own story of medical calamity, when she stumbled over an exposed tree root as a girl and broke her arm.

We settle in alongside Andy as his mother recalls the events leading up to and proceeding from her broken arm, with occasional input from his aunt and grandmother. Medical offices can be austere, intimidating places, but the familiarity of his mother's story sets us all at ease a bit. It was many hours after she broke her arm that she understood anything was seriously wrong, and while the diagnosis of a break was jarring, the shock wore off eventually and the physical and psychological healing process could begin, just as it will for Frank when his problem is pinpointed and an effective treatment regimen started. Broken bones heal and so do sick cats, leaving a story to tell to remind us that the most intense of crises usually comes to a satisfactory conclusion, and more often than not we look back and have a hard time remembering why we were so upset. Andy's mother's simple story of brief childhood trauma shows Andy that even a medical emergency eventually becomes just another familiar part of the past, and lets him breathe easier about Frank's upcoming examination. It brings the family a little closer, too.

The Broken Cat has nice illustrations, but my favorite is on the back cover, the depiction of Andy's mother as a young girl reaching out of an old photograph to pet Andy's cat, whom Andy is holding in a modern photo. It's a sweet picture of what this story is about, the comfort gained by sharing our formative personal experiences from parent to child and back again. The heart of the narrative is captured in this illustration, and it's a good addendum to the story. I appreciate The Broken Cat, and like all of Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins's books, I recommend it.

[Karah Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andy and his family were waiting in the waiting room of the veterinary clinic, and Andy asked his mom about the time she had broken her arm. Andy's mom, aunt, and grandma all helped tell the story about the broken arm. Andy's mom broke her arm when she was very young and she did not like the fact that she was "breakable." It actually scared her, but when all of her friends found out, she thought it was pretty cool to have a cast. At the end of their story, Frank, Andy's cat's name was called by the vet. They had taken Frank into the vet because he was not acting like himself. He had stopped eating, he would not open his eyes, and he slept in the same spot all day long. Frank had gotten in a fight with another cat, and would be okay in a few days.
This book is very cute for a young kid who either has to go to the doctor for his or herself, or if they have to take their pet to the vet. These times may be scary for young children and this book helps the experience not be as scary. I really liked the illustrations in this book because they are very sweet and simple.

[Joanna]

I wanted to see if Lynne Rae Perkins' picture books were as lovely as her novels; this one is pretty sweet. She has a knack for realizing the sort of seemingly mundane details that become important in the stories we tell eachother. Here a woman and her mother are retelling their son/grandson a story from his mother's childhood:

"I cried the whole time he was putting on the splint and the cast and the sling. I wouldn't go in to the birthday party, even though they were having pizza."
"You were embarrassed that you were so late," said Grandma. "I carried your gift up to the house."
"I was embarrassed that my arm was broken," said Andy's mom. "I was embarrassed that I was breakable."

[Jayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ages 3 and up

While waiting at the vet's office, a mother tells her son the story of how she broke her arm as a child. The vet then tells the family that the cat has a wound on its head, but the cat, just like the mother, will heal and be just fine.

This would be a good book to recommend to a parent that needs to explain a hurt pet to their child. This would also be a good book to recommend for a parent whose child has broken a bone, as it discusses the whole process from the accident, to x-rays, healing, and then eventually getting the cast off.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting way to tell a story. I appreciated seeing the glimpses from the past and how the boy used it to comfort himself and his cat. I would probably recommend.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2009...

[Kixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of both a hurt cat and a hurt little girl, Andy's Mom, who recalls the things she felt and thought about breaking her arm when she was young. In the end, both she and Frank the cat turn out just fine after some time to heal. A good book for kids going through an injury/illness or with a pet, friend, or sibling who is.

[Savannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book became confusing with all the different characters talking and it was just too much. I didn't like the back and forth between family members either about a memory that happened years prior. I did however like how this brought up a discussion for my boys and I about veterinarians and where animals go for injuries or visits to their doctor.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

child with injured cat at vet remembers with parents how it was when he broke his arm...tells cat story to comfort...and cat ends up treated by vet and all is well...good book for kids with injured pets or to explain in a comparative way doctors and vets

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this at the library, my 3 year scanned the shelves and managed to find all cat books to take home that visit. It's about a little boy that needs to take his cat to the vet. Both my kids liked the book but I thought it was just okay.

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book to share if you have an injured pet. A young boy sits in the vets office with his injured cat, while asking his mother, aunt and grandmother to recount the time his mother broke her arm. A very reassuring book on healing and injury for a child.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of healing and hope. While sitting at the vet concerned for their cat, the mom told a story of how she broke her arm and was afraid. Even though she was scared at the time everything turned out alright and there wasn't anything to be truly worried about.

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny but also serious. The poor, pathetic-looking cat on the cover has been bitten on the head by another cat (I don't think that's too much of a spoiler).

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love that cover. Nice family bonding story as well as some good pet care information.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story-telling skills lacking.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

good explanation and reassurance about a cant's injury for elementary age kids