Le Guin wrote this highly acclaimed novel about a very special litter of kittens. Mrs. Jane Tabby has always longed to get away from the cramped alleys of the city. She knows it is too late for her, but she thinks her longing may be the reason her litter of kittens was born with wings. When they are old enough to fly, she sends the four kittens, who become known as catwings, out into the world to find their home. But they find that danger does not lurk only in city alleyways. "... a small gem of a book ..."-Publishers Weekly
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"Catwings was recommended to me because Le Guin is an anarchist, and while it totally came across in the story I never felt beaten over the head with radical politics. It's just a lovely story that isn't afraid to give you a bit of reality in it fantasy. The homeless cats have a hard and dangerous life in the city. They have a single mother who is somewhat ridiculed for her one night stand with their father, but she's unfazed by that, and proves what a wonderful mother she is. In the wild our winged animals disrupt the natural habitat, which is something house cats have been doing across America every since we brought them here from across the sea. They must fight the other animals for food, one kitty even gets beaten up by an angry owl. Then finally they form a relationship with two human children who agree to feed them and love them, but never, ever try and tame them. I like the this book shows children that life is hard, and even living your life in the right ways can bring hard things upon you, but if you can rely on the people around you you can get out of it relatively ok." — Maggie (5 out of 5 stars)
"Catwings was recommended to me because Le Guin is an anarchist, and while it totally came across in the story I never felt beaten over the head with radical politics. It's just a lovely story that isn't afraid to give you a bit of reality in it fantasy. The homeless cats have a hard and dangerous life in the city. They have a single mother who is somewhat ridiculed for her one night stand with their father, but she's unfazed by that, and proves what a wonderful mother she is. In the wild our winged animals disrupt the natural habitat, which is something house cats have been doing across America every since we brought them here from across the sea. They must fight the other animals for food, one kitty even gets beaten up by an angry owl. Then finally they form a relationship with two human children who agree to feed them and love them, but never, ever try and tame them. I like the this book shows children that life is hard, and even living your life in the right ways can bring hard things upon you, but if you can rely on the people around you you can get out of it relatively ok."
“Cats are always appealing, and winged cats should be doubly so.”
“A small gem of a book, with convincing and intriguing characters.”
" Loved this book as a child! "
" We've read this several times and just never rated it, but it has been brought home on occasion so I feel like I should record it. "
" so cute and it makes you dream of flying and other nice fantasies! "
" This is my favorite book of all time. It is such a simple and imaginative story - I still return to it for comfort again and again. "
" My 3 year old son adores this series. "
" Great read-aloud. Can be read in one night. "
" This is a cute book about 4 cats with wings that search for a safer place to live. This would be a good book to used with students who are just starting to reach chapter books because this book only has 4 chapters. "
" i borrowed this from my children's literature teacher for the presentation i am apart of on animal fantasy. what a sweet book. it is a chapter book but a small one. these little cats were born with wings because their mother dreamed they would be able to fly away from the city when she was pregnant with them. one day when a dog chases one of the girls the mom says they need to use their wings to fly away. they flew to the country where it turned out to be just as dangerous as behind the dumpster. after a run in with an owl the four cats find two nice children who put food out for them. i love cats so i loved this book. how cute would my halaya look with wings? "
" Beautiful story! Gave it to my little 6 year old cousin. :-) "
" Loved this story of adventurous winged cats. Ever since I was little I enjoyed the story and its illustrations. "
" All the Catwings books were some of my favorites from childhood, I still own and read them as an adult! "
" cats. with wings. read while sitting on a rock with my feet in a lake. 5 stars. "
" A charming, precious little book, with such delightful illustrations! I LOVED this as kid. "
" Sweet little thing. Elliot loved it. Am I allowed to count the books we read together? I say yes. "
" "Oh James, their hands are kind!" too-short kid's book "
" A really cute story made me believe cats can even have wings. It's rather an interesting story that I kept rereading this book way back from my fourth grade. "
" So sweet! The author's narration is simply delightful. "
" I guess I like this book, it's kind of wierd though. "
" Simple story for cat lovers. "
" What a charming little book with lovely illustrations. I wish this had been around when my son was little. I would have loved to have read this out loud to him. "
" This series of short books about a litter of kittens born with wings, enabling them to escape their not so great life in the dangerous city. My kids both loved these; even I enjoyed the level of writing. "
" Great little books! I read all 4 books in the series to my kids in about a week. Simple and charming. "
" Very sweet children's book. Not only because it is about cats. "
" guilty confession... this was my first Ursula LeGuin book ever. I decided to start with one I could read in 10 minutes, and see how it went. Seems like a good read for lovers of Charlotte's Web or vice versa. "
" I haven't read this book in so long. It was really cute. "
" Cats with wings are trying to find a place to live. A nice quick read that I would guess works well as a read-aloud. "
" Le Guin is an author I keep trying. I mean, a feminist SciFi writer? How awesome is that! I thought maybe I'd be able to see her charm in children's books, since I thought the adult books moved too slowly. Nope. "
" My eight year old gives this five stars. I thought it was pretty great, too. "
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author of novels, children’s books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has also written poetry, literary criticism, and essays. She was widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction writers in the history of the genre. She won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards on several occasions, as well as the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, and many other honors and prizes. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
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