Charlie Anderson
Written by Barbara Abercrombie
Illustrated by Mark Graham
Reviewed by Brooke W. (age 9)
One cold night, a cat walked up to Elizabeth and Sarah's house. He got inside and started to get used to the house. The girls named him Charlie. At night Charlie slept with Elizabeth and sometimes Sarah. In the morning the girls' mother gave Charlie warm milk. Then he went into the woods for the day. Charlie grew fat and purred loudly. On weekends, Sarah and Elizabeth went into the city. They wanted to bring Charlie, but mom said no because he was a country cat. One night Charlie didn't come home. They wandered where he was and if he was alright. The next day the girls looked for Charlie but they didn't find him. They went to a new house on the other side of the woods and asked the people if they had seen a fat cat with gray striped fur. The people said they have a cat like that, but their cat's name is Anderson. The girls saw the cat and yelled "Charlie". The man said, "No that's Anderson." The cat began to purr. The man said Anderson was a hunter and that he went in the woods at night. The girls said that Charlie sleeps in their beds at night. The woman said Anderson leaves right after dinner. Everyone realized that it was the same cat. They call him Charlie Anderson now.
I liked this book because it was somewhat confusing yet mysterious. At the very end, they put all of the pieces together and found that Charlie/Anderson has been two-timing them. He could have been getting two breakfasts and dinners. That makes him a very clever cat. I like that!
Charlie Anderson reminds me of my cat, Toby. Toby likes to sleep on my bed at night but he seems to disappear during the day. Toby is also very clever, just like Charlie Anderson was because Toby eats all of his food and then I find him eating the dog's food!
This story reminds me of Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat because when they find Dave he becomes a special friend just like Charlie was to the girls.
I think that this story could really happen, but I wonder how two families would share one cat. Who would pay the vet bills? They would have to agree on things like that if they were both to keep him.
I would recommend Charlie Anderson to people who like mysteries and people who like books about cats. Charlie Anderson disappears and it is interesting to wonder why he does. When you finally find out in the end it is a surprise.