The Blue Cat of Castle Town facts for kids
The Blue Cat of Castle Town is a children's novel written by Catherine Cate Coblentz. It was illustrated by Janice Holland. This special story is about a kitten born under a blue moon. This kitten has an important job: to share the "song of the river" with everyone in Castle Town. This song teaches about beauty, peace, and how things change.
The book first came out in 1949. It was so good that it won a Newbery Honor award in 1950. The author, Catherine Coblentz, was inspired to write the book after visiting Castleton, Vermont, in 1946. She learned about a local girl who had made a beautiful embroidered carpet. This carpet even had a blue cat on it! Coblentz used real people and places from Vermont's history to create the blue cat's adventures.
Contents
Discover the Story: The Blue Cat's Journey
This section tells you all about the adventures of the blue cat. It starts in the early 1830s in a small town in Vermont.
A Special Kitten's Beginning
A unique blue kitten is born. Every kitten needs a home, called a "hearth." But a blue kitten has a harder time finding one. This is because a blue kitten must first learn the river's song. Then, it must teach this song to the person who keeps its hearth. The kitten's mother tells him not to listen to the river. But soon, he can't help but hear the river's whispers. He learns the song and sets out to find his destiny.
First Homes and Lessons Learned
The blue kitten first meets a barn cat, but he ignores her. He also tries to get into a house, but a girl slams the door. His first real home is with Ebenezer Southmayd, a pewter maker. Ebenezer is old and has stopped making beautiful pewter. Instead, he makes cheap, shiny trade items. The kitten sings the river's song to Ebenezer. This inspires the old man to create one perfect, beautiful teapot using an old recipe. Sadly, Ebenezer passes away right after finishing it. So, the blue kitten must find a new hearth.
Meeting New People and Challenges
Next, the kitten meets John Gilroy, a weaver. Two women want him to weave fine linen. But John has a contract to make plain "salt-and-pepper" cloth for Arunah Hyde. Arunah Hyde lives in the grand Mansion House. Inspired by the river's song, John takes the linen job. But Hyde soon arrives, angry and in a hurry. John goes back to his more profitable work and puts the kitten outside. As Hyde's stagecoach speeds away, he scoops up the kitten.
Life at the Mansion House
At the Mansion House, Hyde is always shouting about making more money. But he also gives the blue kitten rich cream and tasty salmon. The kitten grows into a big, blue cat. The cat sings the river's song to Hyde. But Hyde has his own song, a dark one about progress and power. Hyde even plans to stuff the blue cat and display him in the Mansion House window! The cat escapes, but he gets sick. The same barn cat he ignored earlier rescues him. She cares for him along with her own yellow kittens. The blue cat gets better, but he has forgotten the river's song.
Rediscovering the River's Song
When spring arrives, the town seems to be under Hyde's influence. In the church, the blue cat meets Thomas Royal Dake, a carpenter. Thomas wants to build a truly beautiful pulpit for the church. But the building committee wants him to do it cheaply. It turns out that Thomas knows the river's song! The blue cat relearns the song from him.
The blue cat stays with Thomas while he builds the pulpit from white pine and cherry wood. Then, the cat returns to Zeruah Guernsey, a sad girl on a farm, and his friend, the barn cat. Zeruah is lonely and feels she is ugly. She listens to the river's song, but she doesn't sing it herself for a while.
The Embroidered Carpet and Town's Change
Finally, Zeruah puts aside her sadness. She begins to work on an embroidered carpet. She stitches flowers from the woods and her mother's garden into it. She also adds her father's favorite white rooster. When she embroiders the blue cat into the carpet, he realizes what he must do. To thank his friend, the barn cat, he brings her kittens into the house one by one. Zeruah then adds them to the carpet too.
Zeruah's carpet becomes famous in the town. Many people come to see it. The blue cat sings to them. Slowly, Arunah Hyde's song loses its power. The townspeople remember the importance of creating "beauty and peace and content" once again.
The River's Song: A Message of Beauty and Purpose
The river's song is a central part of the story. It teaches important lessons about life and creating things well.
"Sing your own song, said the river,
"Sing your own song.
"Out of yesterday song comes.
It goes into tomorrow,
Sing your own song.
"With your life fashion beauty,
This too is the song.
Riches will pass and power. Beauty remains.
Sing your own song."
""All that is worth doing, do well, said the river.
Sing your own song.
Certain and round be the measure,
Every line be graceful and true.
Time is the mold, time the weaver, the carver,
Time and the workman together,
Sing your own song.
Sing well, said the river. Sing well."
Where to Find the Book Online
You can find a free online version of The Blue Cat of Castle Town. It is available at A Celebration of Women Writers. This is the same edition that won the Newbery Honor in 1950.
