So yesterday, feeling lousy with allergies, a head cold, and a painful hip (can’t run which is misery for me), I pulled out the ARC and read it.Īnd was immediately and utterly drawn in. Until someone told me it reminded her of Russell Hoban‘s The Mouse and his Child which happens to be one of my favorite books. “An abandoned calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up dog….” Nope. And so, when I received a gorgeously packaged ARC of Kathi Appelt‘s The Underneath, I admired it (as it is handsomely illustrated by David Small), and then read the flap. While I definitely enjoyed sad animal stories as a child, now, with the occasional exception, I avoid them. Now I admit it took me a while to read this one. And.it's generally the one with the big shiny 'medals' on them. We found two available book covers for this book, but the one on the left (light yellow) is by far the more widely used version. 4-8 DRA Level: 60 Lexile Measure: 830L Grade Equivalent: 5.4 Guided Reading: Y Newbery Honor Book - American Library Association Notable Children's Book Nominee - American Library Association Notable Children's Books - New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing List - National Book Award Finalist - PEN USA Literary Award for Children's Literature You may want to read it yourself first and recommend it with This title will likelyīe too harsh for many kids, particularly animal This is definitely not a 'cute' animal story. Warning: This book contains violence, animalĪbuse, and death! The illustration on the book cover is a bit

Sights, sounds, and characters of the Louisiana bayou. Yet sweet tale about the power of love-and hate-and the importance of Safety of the porch, setting off an astonishing, nail-biting chain of Until the fateful day when one kitten's curiosity leads him outside the

The cat agrees, and they're safe under the porch The house, who would surely feed them to the alligators if he found That way they'd be safe from the cruel man Ranger, who urges the cat to hide under the porch-'the Underneath'

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt & David SmallĬalico cat about to give birth is befriended by a hound dog

The underneath by kathi appelt