''Catwings'' is a series of four American

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

s written by

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

, illustrated by S. D. Schindler, and originally published by Scholastic from 1988 to 1999. It follows the adventures of kittens who were born with wings. ''Catwings'' is also the title of the first book in the series. The series is in print from Scholastic as of August 2015. In Britain the series was published in two omnibus volumes as ''Tales of Catwings'' and ''More Tales of the Catwings'' (Puffin/Penguin, 1999 and 2000). In America the 2003 editions were available in a

boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

of four with

slipcase A slipcase is a five-sided box, usually made of high-quality cardboard, into which ring binder, binders, books or book sets are ''slipped'' for protection, leaving the spine (book), spine exposed. Special editions of books are often slipcased for ...

title ''The Catwings Collection'' (Orchard/Scholastic), listed as ''Catwings Set'' by Powell's Books. Scholastic classifies the ''Catwings'' books as fantasy and classifies the first two by "interest level" as "grades 2–5", the last two as "grades preK–3" (children of ages about 7–11 and 4–9 respectively). The series is covered by the

Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

, which classifies the volumes as short fiction and as chapbooks. Scholastic Book Guides, a series for schoolteachers, includes one ''Catwings'' volume. In 2002 and 2003 as ''Catwings 5'' and ''Catwings 6'', Le Guin published online editions of picture books "by Mrs. Katz's First Grade Class". Ten years after their last ''Catwings'' volume, Le Guin and Schindler created another picture book featuring a cat: '' Cat Dreams'' (Orchard/Scholastic, 2009), with "easy rhyming text" and "realistic, full-bleed watercolor illustrations".

Plot summary

''Catwings''

Mrs. Jane Tabby can't explain why her four precious kittens were born with wings, but gladly she's grateful that they are able to use their flying skills to soar away from the dangerous city slums where they were born. However, once the kittens escape the big city, they learn that country life can be just as difficult.

''Catwings Return''

James and Harriet return to the city to find their mother. When they arrive, they find a small black kitten with wings, isolated and traumatized. They gain its trust, find their mother, and learn that the kitten is hers – lost when their first home, an old dumpster, was moved. Mother Jane declines to leave the city but asks James and Harriet to take the kitten with them. They do, and the rural children who have cared for them name her Jane.

''Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings''

In the country, a self-important young cat named Alexander leaves home and finds the catwings family. He grows up as he helps Jane talk.

''Jane on Her Own''

Young Jane leaves her farm family and returns to the city. She and mother Jane find a home with a woman in an apartment.

Publication

All books were written by Ursula K. Le Guin and illustrated by S. D. Schindler; cover designs vary but consistently use illustrations by Schindler. U.S. editions were published by Scholastic, perhaps under its Orchard Books imprint. * ''Catwings'' ( Orchard Books, 1988), * ''Catwings Return'' (1989) * '' Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings'' (1994) * ''Jane on Her Own'' (1999) * ''Tales of Catwings'' (UK:

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...

/Penguin, 1999), – omnibus edition of books 1–2 * ''More Tales of the Catwings'' (Puffin, 2000), – omnibus of books 3–4 All four books were reissued by Orchard/Scholastic in May 2003 with cover designs that display their titles under a common banner that shows "A Catwings Tale",

uppercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''#Majuscule, majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''#Minuscule, minuscule'') in the written representation of certain langua ...

. They are sometimes listed with titles such as ''Catwings Return (A Catwings Tale)'' and ''Jane on Her Own: A Catwings Tale''. * ''The Catwings Collection'' (2003), – boxed set of "Le Guin's first four installments of her series" (as by Ken Geist and Le Guin)"Catwings Set"
Powell's City of Books (powells.com). Retrieved August 15, 2015.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called the first ''Catwings'' book "a charming, if insubstantial story" and concluded, "Although there is nothing extraordinary here in either theme or event, the wit and precision with which the story is told give it considerable appeal. Schindler's exquisitely detailed drawings, warmed with the softest of added color, make a perfect accompaniment to what should serve as a satisfying young reader or as a read-aloud"."Catwings illustrated by S.D. Schindler, by Ursula K. Le Guin"
''Kirkus Reviews'' (kirkusreviews.com). August 15, 1988. Retrieved August 17, 2015. Reviewing the sequel six months later, ''Kirkus'' observed: "Like its predecessor, this is a rather mild little story made interesting by its beguiling subject, the author's wit and felicitous use of language, and the illustrator's fine, splendidly detailed drawings"."Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin"
Kirkus. February 15, 1989. Retrieved August 17, 2015.

Illustrator

Steven D. Schindler was born September 27, 1952, in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

, and raised there. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

with a major in biology. He lives in Philadelphia (1999 and 2015). By 1989 his books had been published with credit as illustrator under all of the forename(s) S. D., Steven, Steven D., and Steve."Schindler, S. D."
Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved August 15, 2015. A list of works published in January 2007 covered more than 100 books but only one as both writer and illustrator ("self-illustrated"), namely ''My First Bird Book'' (Random House, 1989, ). In February 2013 the ''

'' review of his forthcoming self-illustrated picture book ''Spike and Ike Take a Hike'' (New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, April 2013, ) observed that "Schindler has illustrated well over 100 picture and chapter books but almost never written the text himself. Readers will be happy he has taken this path"."SPIKE AND IKE TAKE A HIKE by S.D. Schindler, illustrated by S.D. Schindler"
''Kirkus Reviews''. March 1, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2015. As of August 2015 the Library of Congress Online Catalog includes 130 records of books that it credits to him, which may include multiple editions of some titles. Its records for those two books alone credit Schindler as writer and illustrator. ''The First Tulips in Holland'', written by Phyllis Krasilovsky and published by Doubleday in 1982, was Schindler's first book published, he says. For that work he received a 1982 Parents' Choice Award for Illustration. ''If You Should Hear a Honey Guide'', April Pulley Sayre (Houghton Mifflin, 1995) was recognized by a 1995 Smithsonian Award for outstanding natural history and ''Don't Fidget a Feather!'', Erica Silverman (Simon & Schuster Children's, 1994) with a 1996–97

California Young Reader Medal The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily ...

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

reports that ''Catwings'' (1988) ranks fourth among Schindler's books most widely held in participating libraries. The others in his top five, led by ''The Story of Salt'', are much younger books. In chronological order:"Schindler, S. D."
WorldCat.org. Retrieved August 17, 2015. * ''Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!'', written by Kathleen V. Kudlinski (Dutton Children's Books, 2005), unpaged, * ''Whittington'', Alan Armstrong (Random House, 2005), 191 pp. – featuring "a feline descendant of Dick Whittington's famous cat of English folklore", * ''The Story of Salt'',

Mark Kurlansky Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book, ''Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'' (1997), was an international bestseller a ...

(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2006), 48 pp., * ''Tricking the Tallyman'', Jacqueline D. Davies (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009), unpaged – set in Vermont during the inaugural 1790 U.S. census,

Notes

References

External links

Search results: catwings
at Kirkus.com (4 reviews) {{authority control, additional=Q181659,Q20825601 Book series introduced in 1988 Series of children's books American picture books Children's fiction books Series by Ursula K. Le Guin 1988 children's books Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin Fictional cats Orchard Books books Children's books about cats