The Cat Ate My Gymsuit facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Paula Danziger |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Delacorte Books |
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Publication date
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1974 |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 160 pp |
| ISBN | 0-14-240654-6 |
| OCLC | 67616260 |
| Followed by | There's a Bat in Bunk Five |
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit is a popular young adult novel written by Paula Danziger. It was first published in 1974. The story is about a girl named Marcy Lewis and her journey to find her voice.
Contents
Story of Marcy Lewis
The book follows Marcy Lewis, a ninth-grader who is very smart and sensitive. However, she struggles with her confidence. Marcy feels embarrassed about her weight. This makes her not want to change for gym class. She often makes up funny excuses, like the famous "the cat ate my gymsuit," to avoid it.
Marcy's home life is also tough. Her father, Martin, often criticizes everyone in the family. Her mother, Lily, tries to keep the peace. She tells Marcy to ignore her father's behavior. This makes it hard for Marcy to talk about her true feelings.
A New Teacher Arrives
Things start to change when Marcy's English class gets a new teacher, Ms. Finney. Ms. Finney is different. She is creative and encourages her students to think for themselves. She wants them to understand their feelings. She even helps them start a school club called Smedley. In Smedley, students learn to think about their own feelings and the feelings of others.
Through this club, Marcy starts to make new friends. She also begins to learn how to stand up for herself. But her father doesn't like Marcy's new confidence. The school leaders also dislike Ms. Finney's unusual teaching style.
Ms. Finney's Challenge
Eventually, Ms. Finney is fired from her job. The reason given is that she refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This decision causes a big stir at school.
Marcy and her friends from Smedley decide to protest Ms. Finney's firing. They believe it's unfair. Because of their protest, the principal, Mr. Stone, suspends the entire group.
To Marcy's surprise, her mother, who is the president of the PTA, supports Marcy. This puts her mother against both the school and Marcy's father. Her father is very angry that Marcy got suspended.
The whole school community becomes divided. Some parents even tell their children to stop being friends with others because of the disagreement. But the students refuse to let this happen.
The Court Case and Aftermath
Ms. Finney decides to take her firing to court. Some of her former students, including Marcy, speak up for her. The court rules that the school had no legal reason to fire her. They say it's against the law to force someone to say the Pledge.
The school board has to offer Ms. Finney her job back. But Ms. Finney decides not to return. She realizes that coming back might just cause more problems and division in the community. Marcy and her friends feel sad and a bit betrayed at first. But they soon understand her reasons.
The class gets a new, more traditional English teacher. Ms. Finney finds a new job helping people as a therapist.
After all these events, Marcy learns a lot about herself. She realizes that she and her father are very different. She understands she can't change him, but she can keep working on herself. Her mother also learns this lesson. She decides to take night classes to improve her own life. Marcy finds that the friends she made during their fight for Ms. Finney continue to support her. She even discovers that a boy she likes feels the same way about her!
Why the Book Was Written
The latest version of the book includes a special note from Paula Danziger. She explains why she wrote The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and why its message is still important today.
The funny title of the book comes from one of Marcy's many excuses. She tells her gym teacher, Ms. Schmidt, that "the cat ate my gymsuit" to get out of gym class. This is similar to the common excuse "the dog ate my homework."
Next in the Series
This book is followed by another story about Marcy Lewis called There's a Bat in Bunk Five.
