Pyewacket (novel) explained

Pyewacket is a children's novel written by Rosemary Weir and illustrated by Charles Pickard. First published in 1967, the narrative centers on the demolition of a series of row houses from the viewpoint(s) of Pyewacket, a resilient alley cat, and his friends, who stay on the property and adapt to a new life.

Reception

In a positive review, Richard Lockridge of The New York Times called the book "ingenious, well-plotted and pretty funny".[1] Finding the novel to be "a most amusing story", the Redwood City Tribunes Pat Martin praised Charles Pickard's illustrations and Weir's "very fine characterization" of the cat.[2] The book was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews.[3]

Writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Virginia Van Fleet called the book's conclusion "a most ingenious and satisfying solution".[4] In a negative review, The Guardian book critic Edward Blishen said that although he liked fantasy stories and cat tales, the book was "heavy and calculated" and he discovered himself "being bumped gloomily along the ground".[5]

Sequel

Weir wrote Pyewacket and Son, another story about Pyewacket, in 1980.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: Lockridge . Richard . Richard Lockridge . 1967-11-05 . Cat Tales ... . . BR24 . .
  2. News: Martin . Pat . 1968-09-21 . Pat Martin Scans Books for the Young . . . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525025614/https://www.newspapers.com/article/redwood-city-tribune/148023902/ . 2024-05-25 .
  3. 1967 . Pyewacket review . . . 1210 . 2024-05-25 .
  4. News: Van Fleet . Virginia . 1968-04-28 . Young Readers: Cat Tale Excellent . . . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525025958/https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/148024088/ . 2024-05-25 .
  5. News: Blishen . Edward . Edward Blishen . 1967-07-07 . Books for children: History and imagination . . . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525030556/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/148024364/ . 2024-05-25 .
  6. News: 1981-03-06 . The World of Books . . Newspapers.com . 2024-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240525030856/https://www.newspapers.com/article/manchester-evening-news/148024526/ . 2024-05-25 .