by Aoi Hiiragi, 213 pagesHaru is having a bad day. But after she saves a cat from getting hit by a car, her life just gets plain weird. Her school is suddenly surrounded by fields of cattails. Boxes of canned mice are delivered to her house. And the air is heavy with catnip. And then there's the whole being engaged to the King of Cats' son....
With help from new friends Baron (a dapper cat doll come to life) and Muto (a cat as grumpy as he is plump) and others, Haru tries to convince the hilariously lazy and single-minded King of Cats to let her out of the last part of her "reward" before it's too late and she's trapped in the Kingdom of Cats forever.
This cute, funny all-ages manga was also made into an animated film (The Cat Returns) in 2002.
The movie adaptation is great as well. My son first watched it and fell in love with the movie when he was three. Now we watch it together each year. When he gets a little older (he is seven), I'll have to check out the manga for him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat tradition, Jennifer. I loved the movie, too. One of the parts that sticks in my memory the most is the mysterious out-of-the-fog cat procession down the middle of the street. I hope your son enjoys the book, too.
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