Super cats : true stories of felines that made history / Elizabeth MacLeod.

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  • Additional Information
    • Abstract:
      Summary: "This book outlines how playful, cuddly, helpful, and smart cats have been throughout history as icons of worship, skilled hunters, comforters to the sick, faithful companions, and detectors of diseases in humans. The author recounts the origins of superstitions regarding black cats, explores the role of cats in Japanese and Chinese cultures, and provides a useful guide to how cats communicate with other cats and with humans."-- Provided by publisher.
    • Content Notes:
      Cool cats -- Cat Gods -- Bad luck cats -- Good luck cats -- Inspiring cats -- Feline hunting machines -- Working cats -- Spy cats -- Cats that help and heal -- Time line -- Places to visit.
    • Notes:
      Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-86) and index.
      Issued also in electronic formats.
    • ISBN:
      9781554519941
      1554519942
      9781554519934
      1554519934
    • Accession Number:
      on1027042238
      1027042238
    • Accession Number:
      fay.564606

Reviews

Booklist Reviews 2018 February #2

Cats are more than fluffy companions who love to curl up in our laps. Arranged thematically, this fun and educational title looks at the role cats have played throughout history. Each chapter introduces the topic with a short story, such as scientist Nikola Tesla's interest in electricity being ignited by the shower of sparks (what we now know as static electricity) produced by petting his cat. The chapter continues with more ways cats have inspired inventors, musicians, and writers. Other topics focus on cat worship in ancient Egypt, cats' roles as harbingers of both bad and good luck, their special hunting abilities, and their work aboard ships, as therapy animals, and even in espionage. The text is arranged in manageable chunks, surrounded by plenty of high-interest facts and archival photos, making it convenient for reading cover to cover or simply browsing. While it includes a time line, cat-related places to visit, and additional back matter, it's the inclusion of internet cat memes that really completes these tails . . . err, tales. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

PW Reviews 2018 February #2

In this photo-filled outing, MacLeod touches on the evolution of domesticated house cats and notes humans' changing perceptions of cats, from being worshiped in ancient Egypt to being associated with witchcraft in medieval Europe. A section on "inspiring cats" includes Macak, Nicola Tesla's childhood cat, who helped spark his interest in understanding electricity one dry, staticky night. Cats have even worked as spies: in the 1960s, two Siamese cats responded to the high-pitched noise created by a Russian bug hidden in the Dutch embassy. Photographs, sidebars, a timeline, and other resources create a lively flow of information as MacLeod blends facts with anecdotes to create an entertaining and accessible dive into feline history. Ages 8–11. (Mar.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly.