The Good Luck Cat

by Joy Harjo

Book Overview

Some cats are good luck. You pet them and good things happen. Woogie is one of those cats. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat's good luck... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152321977
• ISBN13: 9780152321970
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 11.4" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

A very touching book

My son brought this home from his school library and was extremely touched by this book. He is quite a sensitive child and when it comes to anyone or anything getting hurt he feels it. I initially thought he didn't want the book but I misread his reaction. I thought he was upset and didn't like the book. But, he kept saying "Order it off the internet, daddy". The page where Woogie gets chased by the boys with the BB gun has to be the most heart-wrenching page, next to where he goes missing but eventually shows up. And HOPEFULLY becomes an indoor cat!! From an engine fan, tumble dryer and boys with BB guns poor Woogie uses up his nine lives but this cat has 10! A great book for natives and the rest of us (like my family).

This book should be a part of every Indian kid's library

As a Native American father of a two-year old and a four-year old, I often struggle to find material that presents being Indian as normal for my kids. Too often, books send the message that Indians are not normal and the things we do and wear are not normal. So I search hard for books that are culturally relevant and well-written. Our family favorite is Joy Harjo's The Good Luck Cat, which just makes Indian kids and Indian practices normal for once without even having to center it, as so many other kids' books with Indian characters do. Indian kids can connect with it in a natural way and Indian parents can feel good about it. Kids of other backgrounds ought to have this book in their collections, too, because they, too, need to understand that being an Indian kid is normal. And Harjo is a great author, so your kid will enjoy the story.

beautiful, simple reading experience with my child

Joy Harjo tells this story in a simply beautiful way. Wrapped in this cover are emotions and experiences that my daughter and I can joyfully follow together. I'm always glad when my child selects this as one of her bedtime stories.

Excellent picture book

This story is a touching tale of pet ownership. The unnamed narrator shares her love for Woogie (the cat) with the reader, and expresses (in both words and pictures) a very real relationship between a child and a pet.This story is sweet without being saccharine; emotional without being overly sentimental. Harjo's gift for poetry shows in the simple but expressive text ("My dad watched Woogie's seventh life fly by him as she ran after it"), and the warm paintings show the cat's expressions in a very real way.

A great book for cat fans!

According to Aunt Shelly, Woogie is a good luck cat, and he certainly proves it by surviving one scrape after another. But when he doesn't come home, we wonder if this good luck cat's luck has run out. This is a light, charming celebration of a young girl's friendship with a cat. And it's -- at last! -- a children's picture book featuring Native American characters where culture isn't the main theme. Of course, it's great to have accurate books that touch on Indian themes; however, they should be balanced with delightful stories like this one that depict daily life. Harjo's writing -- as always -- is wonderful and Paul Lee's lovely illustrations really capture feline personality.