If you've ever had a cat, you know it's pretty difficult to discourage them from doing anything they want to do. In our house, disciplining our cat doesn't mean she'll stop the undesirable behavior. It just means she knows to run away even more quickly when we catch her. In The Cat Came Back, we meet a strong-willed feline who will not be deterred when he decides he's finally found the home he's been looking for.
For his new owner, the cat targets a farmer named Mr. Johnson. But Mr. Johnson does not want the cat and tries to find him an alternate abode. After several attempts, Mr. Johnson gets more and more desperate and tries sending the cat off on a pirate ship, stashing him on Santa's sleigh, even launching him on a rocket to Mars.
"But the cat came back the very next day.
The cat came back—we thought he was a goner.
But the cat came back.
He just couldn't stay away."
Based on a folk song by the author (but with a slightly different ending), the text definitely has a lyrical feel to it. The illustrations do a great job of capturing the book's silly spirit. The Cat Came Back is a fun read-aloud, and is enjoyable for cat-lovers, who will surely understand the cat's determined behavior, as well as cat-detesters, who will be amused at the thought of a cat hurtling through outer space.
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