Review of Cat Book (children’s): Catundra

About the author

According to his website, he started writing these children’s books because he had gone to a bookstore to buy a book for his young daughter, and couldn’t find what he wanted. (He wanted a book that was fun to read, had a moral, and was easily affordable.) So he started writing his own books, teaming up with illustrator Robin James. But publishers rejected them at first, until a contract was offered – except: they didn’t like the illustrations, or the moral in the plot, and would publish hardcover (not affordable to everyone). So instead, he started his own publishing company Serendipity Press, later merged with P/S/S – Penguin/Putnam. (Cosgrove, 2019)

About the illustrator

Her obituary reads that she was a talented artist who loved her career with Serendipity books. She enjoyed her fans and faithfully answered every single fan letter. She “was a true friend to all animals everywhere, wild or domestic, and they were her favorite subject to draw”. (Legacy, 2024)

Summary

Catundra is the name of a fat orange cat. All the animals make fun of her because she’s fat; this make her sad, which makes her eat more. Friendship with a mole, exercise, and a healthy diet turn her into a happy cat.

My Own Review:

My copy of Catundra is the 1981 edition that my mom picked up second hand (thrift store? yard sale?) when I was young. I believe it was my third Serendipity series book. I enjoyed these books as a child, and it was interesting to dig out my old copy and now years later re-read Catundra as an adult.

Appeal

As a child I most definitely judged a book by it’s cover, and having had orange cats during my childhood, this cover of course appealed to me. Also, I enjoyed stories about animals, – especially cats! So this book was a good fit for me, since all the characters are animals. The story ends with a happily ever after for Catundra, another thing I always liked/like in a story.

Artwork

The layout of this book is such that the left page contains the written story and the corresponding right page is a full color illustration (total of 14 pages of illustrations). The pictures match the story, the artwork is realistic in that everything can easily be identified.

My first Serendipity series book was actually Buttermilk (bunny), which I remember loving the illustrations so much I wished I was able to hug that bunny! Similarly, reading the story of Catundra and seeing the picture where she’s crying a tear made me feel so sad for that poor orange kitty that was being made fun of. That picture is a good example of how the illustrations certainly enhance the story; because it reads, “Poor Catundra would feel so bad”, and the picture amplifies the feeling of those words by showing her crying. Illustrations are important when it comes to children’s books, and I liked/like these: they made an impression on me as a child that I still remember now years later as an adult.

Characters

Catundra is a fittingly descriptive name for a tubby cat, as well as being fairly unique and therefore memorable. And you root for her to lose weight so she won’t be made fun of or sad anymore.

Bigger Meaning

The moral of this story is written at the bottom of the cover (some editions): “Healthy food and exercise keep you well in body and mind”. Now as an adult, I can especially appreciate this moral. The question is: how well does the story convey this message?

Exercise

In the story Catundra starts exercising, and it begins with short amounts of activity: “He would have her jog just a little way, then stop and let her rest.” But eventually she’s running and jumping all over, and happy doing it (also realistic because exercise releases endorphins). The story makes it clear that exercise is good.

Healthy food

There’s a paragraph that reads, “Once in a while Catundra would get that hungry look in her eye, but the little mole would wisely let her eat some fresh vegetables. Once he even let her catch a small minnow from the stream just to keep her strength.” If I consider just these words, it sort of sounds like Catundra is being starved. However, the corresponding picture with this text shows her drinking a saucer of milk and near her is a bowl of salad, a plate of vegetables, and a plate of fruit – all together a lot of food (another example of illustrations enhancing the story). And the text does say “that hungry look”. Therefore, the complete message I get from this section is that she’s eating when she’s hungry (not when she’s being made fun of – emotional binge eating), and she’s eating healthy food.

Now, it’s not accurate to show vegetables, fruit, and dairy as a good diet for a cat which is an obligatory carnivore (although it does mention ” a small minnow” also). – But it’s a fiction book and that picture illustrates a healthy balanced diet for a human, which is the underlying lesson.

Being very fat is bad

The mole lays out for Catundra the chain loop of behaviors that need to be broke: “…you should go on a diet and get yourself in shape. If you’re not fat, then nobody can make fun of you, and if they don’t make fun of you, you won’t be miserable, and if you’re not miserable you won’t want to eat.” Catundra is being body shamed about her weight by the other animals. Is this okay behavior by these bullies? – Of course not. But it is a disappointing reality of real life that people behave meanly (bad behavior). But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to be overweight, either (also a bad behavior – not a bad person). To be clear, Catundra is very fat, not just a little extra weight. And being obese is unhealthy, leads to all kinds of health problems which end up costing money, not to mention it diminishes a person’s quality of life and mental health. And it hurts the family and friends who love the overweight person and hate to watch them struggle.

The message in this book that being fat is bad, is a good message (especially with the growing obesity rates in the USA). And Catundra is encouraged by her friend with the proper way to lose weight – slowly over time by exercise and healthy foods.

Friendship

By the end of the book Catundra has formed a friendship with the mole. He never made fun of her when she was fat, but rather became her encouragement and coach to make the needed changes in her life. This is another good lesson in this book. He was kind and helped her.

Other Notes

There are a few other related lessons that the story almost touches on, but doesn’t fully delve into and this may bother some readers.

It is logical where the story reads, “If you’re not fat, then nobody can make fun of you” – about being fat, that is; however, in reality bullies would just find something else to make fun of. And the thing they choose may not be a bad behavior that should be changed anyway, but something that is actually good and should be accepted. With this tangent we could insert a lesson about self-confidence and accepting yourself for who you are, not letting others determine your self-worth (because we can’t really control other people’s actions, only our own reactions), and that it’s okay to be different. We could also talk about the golden rule – treating everyone how you want to be treated, so it’s wrong to make fun of others.

But this is a short children’s book and doesn’t intend to cover every possible lesson. These are things that an adult reading this story to a child could expand on if they felt the need to clarify.

My Conclusion

My conclusion is that although this book was originally written years ago it’s aged well: the story and it’s moral is still relevant, the illustrations cute. I enjoyed it as a child and I still like it as an adult.

Editions