Margaret Forrester

Mac the cat, who first appeared in author Margaret Forrester's children's novel, The Cat Who Decided: The Almost True Story of an Edinburgh Cat, and then in his debut picture-book, My Cat Mac, returns in this third adventure (and second picture-book). As his family prepare for Christmas, Mac and his little girl Catriona find themselves in a bit of trouble, Catriona because she peeked at her gift beforehand, tried on the ring her parents got for her, and then promptly lost it; and Mac because of his desire to climb the Christmas tree and retrieve the "star" at its top. After some initial contretemps, all is happily resolved, and the happy spirit of Christmas restored...

I enjoyed Mac's Christmas Star quite a bit, and am happy that my library was able to track down a copy, through inter-library loan. The story reminded me a bit of Judith Kerr's Mog's Christmas, which also features a kitty's interaction with her family at the holidays, although Forrester's tale didn't feel at all derivative. The gentle sense of humor, and the feeling of family love to be found in the text is ably captured by illustrator Sandra Klaassen (who also worked on My Cat Mac) in her artwork. Mac himself is adorable, and I wanted to reach into the story and give him some scritches. All in all, a sweet Christmas picture-book, one I would recommend to young cat lovers in general, and to those readers who have enjoyed other tales of this feline character.… (mehr)

When a family of four moves into his house in Edinburgh, Mac the cat is pleased. He's been looking for a special friend, and young Catriona, the daughter of the family, seems like she could be it. But then she dresses him up in doll's clothing, and attempts to wheel him around in a pram - something no self-respecting cat can tolerate! Mac makes good his escape, deciding to stay out all night to teach Catriona a lesson, but he soon finds himself cold and hungry, and longing for his new friend. Catriona, for her part, is worried and upset, and sneaks outside to look for Mac...

Published in 2010, this charming picture-book is apparently a follow-up to Margaret Forrester's children's novel, The Cat Who Decided: The Almost True Story of an Edinburgh Cat, which I have not (as yet) read. It is part of Edinburgh-based publisher Floris Books' Picture Kelpies line, intended to promote quality picture-books created by Scottish authors and illustrators, and featuring Scottish themes and settings. I appreciated the lesson of "learning to respect animals" that is incorporated into the story - as Catriona's mother is continually reminding her, Mac is a cat, not a toy - and found both narrative and artwork appealing. I'd love to track down the initial story about Mac, although it doesn't appear to be available through my library here. I'll have to content myself with reading the next picture-book featuring this human-feline duo, Mac's Christmas Star.… (mehr)