Mrs. Katz and Tush

by Patricia Polacco

Overview

Friends from different backgrounds come together in a heartwarming picture book that is perfect for Passover, from beloved children's book author Patricia Polacco!

Larnel doesn't know his neighbor, Mrs. Katz, very well, until he asks her to adopt an abandoned kitten. Mrs. Katz agrees on one condition: that Larnel helps her take care of the kitten she names Tush. When Larnel starts spending more and more time with Mrs. Katz to help with Tush, Mrs. Katz tells him stories about coming to America from Poland and about the good times she spent with her late husband. As Larnel grows to love Mrs. Katz, he also learns about the common themes of hardship and triumph in each of their cultures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780440409366
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	03/01/1994
Series:	Picture Yearling Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	201,183
Product dimensions:	8.63(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.13(d)
Lexile:	530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

PATRICIA POLACCO is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator with over 115 beloved and award-winning books to her credit, including The Keeping Quilt, Pink and Say, The Blessing Cup, Chicken Sunday, and Thank You, Mr. Falker. She resides in Michigan. Learn more about her work at patriciapolacco.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Polacco's bright double-spread watercolor paintings are exuberant...an elemental picture of human family."
—Booklist.

An American Bookseller Pick of the Lists.

From the Publisher

Zesty art and sensitive storytelling light up these two books, the first about an elderly Jewish widow and her young African American neighbor, the second set in Amish country. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 3—In Patricia Polacco's heartwarming story (Doubleday, 1992), Larnel, a young African-American boy, gives his elderly, newly widowed Jewish neighbor a cat. Soon he is an important part of her life, learning about her heritage and how often it mirrors that of his own ancestors. When the cat, Tush, disappears, it becomes a neighborhood effort to find her. This is a gentle, warm story of a friendship that grows through time. Its underlying message of cherishing both the past and the present is subtly woven into a many-textured tale in which both parties learn important lessons about caring. Polacco reads her story with warmth and just the right accents. Original music by Bruce Zimmerman heightens the emotional impact of the evocative text. Sound quality is excellent, and page-turn signals are optional. An excellent multicultural tale about an intergenerational relationship.—Teresa Bateman. Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA

School Library Journal