A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann: Literature's Sweetest Little Snow Book to hit the News-stands since the Release of Frosty The Snowman.

Koopersmithin' ®
Issue: Friday, February 1, 2008

A Kitten Tale by E. Rohmann:
"Literature's Sweetest Little Snow Book to hit the Bookshelves since the Release of Frosty The Snowman."

Quote of ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith
Adrienne's Book Critiques (C)2001 &
ABC: Adrienne's BookShelf.com (C)2001


The First Book Review for KOOPERSMITHIN' highlighting the New Year, 2008 Release of:

A KITTEN TALE ©2008
by
Eric Rohmann
Alfred A. Knopf/New York City
An Imprint of Random House Books



STATUS: Please return to this website by Monday, Feb. 18 for the full book review.

By:

ASK: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith
askoopersmith@hotmail.com

Adrienne.Sioux.Koopersmith@gmail.com


OPENING:

I read a Book!

New Year. A New Release.

This is the sole activity that I often do not do enough. I have the 30-minute Exercise routine
down pat since I bike 1 hour daily no matter how much snow or inclement elements Chicago has. However, it's not for a lack of great literature that I do not READ enough. It's that I just do not have the Time because of my Projects, but my Projects is not the gist of this Book Review. It's not even a Question of Time Management. When a person is wrought with building their own Dynasty, certain activities get pushed to the background. However, in the back of my mind, it always hounds me that even if I cut into my nightly sleep, I could squeeze in a book, even a Child's that can be read within 15 minutes. And, whose message may be stronger than any other book whose pages number in the hundreds.

"After all: It's not the amount of words that are used (unless you're getting PAID PER WORD) but the Quality of what's said that matters."

Quote of: ASK
Monday, February 4, 2008 - 9:14 AM

HOW THIS ALL BEGAN: "I need to read a book!" I said to myself around 5 PM on Thursday, January 31, 2008 as the Month was in its closing hours. As I tried to clumsily cross the street in the gripping cold and blustery blast of an Arctic C hill that gripped Cook County with calf-high drifts, I was determined to get across the street to Borders Books & Music and see what new Releases were on their shelves.

And, I am so glad I did! My intention at the End of Decem-BURR was to read-a-book-a-month (the RABAM Project is how I addressed it) but somehow I hadn't - yet! Granted it was al-READ-y 31 days into the New year, but my determination and resolution would soon come true as I spotted a Great Read that was an immediate PICK ME UP & READ ME.

I fared the street with the cottony snow embedding my feet. I got through the double Front Door and saw:

A KITTEN GALE by Eric Rohmann

On the bookshelf along with many other authorly presentations were the latest releases. This is it, I said to myself, pulling The Child's Book from the shelf. Being young-at-heart, I immediately knew I could read a book a month IF I read a Kid's Book every month -- as it would not take that long to read. However, being a visual person, too - I would look at the pretty pictures, as 1/2 words - 1/2 pictures have always intrigued me! A picture says a 1000 words and vica versa if you 'ask' me. Great Initials, I always tell my Mom!

Pulling the book from the shelf with neat big pictures, it immediately grabbed my attention. I began thumbing through looking for the Story Line and saw it had to do with Cats and Snow.

Memories began to flash back to my beautiful Siamese Cat, THA HIN (named after a Village in Siam) that I had found in World Book Encyclopedia. Even at age 10, I was always into exotic names. He deserved one. Thy was born in the late Spring of 1962 in Florida, a place where no snow really lands. Perhaps now it does though due to global warming, but that's another Blog's worth...

His first winter sprang upon him unexpected much like the Kitties in this book. Thy went out one day, prowling which was what small town cats could do back in the 1960s. He did not come home. It snowed that night and he got 'displaced.' I was more that frantic. I was out of my mind. He was gone! As the snow piled up in our backyard, I followed each path. Most were of rabbits whose hind legs resembled a cat's. A second day past. A third. On the 4th day, Mom was looking out the window and she saw a streak rush past the window and up to the back-door. It was THA HIN. He came home.

But where was he? That was the big Question...

Evidently, THA HIN had gotten caught in the basement of our Neighbors, the Prescotts. Charlie, their 30-year old salesman son was home for the weekend. On Sunday night as he was pulling out of the garage to head back out on the road (as this was typical in the 60s), 'Thy' slipped in and made his way into their house and into the basement where he stayed for 4 days until Charlie returned from business trip. Alone and hungry, Tha Hin remained in their house, at least he was out of the cold. No telling what he ate, if anything. When Charlie returned he saw a blurr-of-fur bound from the opening of the garage door that streaked straight back home -- just a yard away!

Upon reading Eric's CAT TALE Book, how it reminded me of my own Cat Story, of which there might be millions upon millions of them floating around. Although it was harrowing at the time, it did have a happy ending, much like Eric's did. But the idea is to BUY THE BOOK. So being the conscientious book reviewer that I am, I won't tell the Ending...