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Book Reviews: Catwings series, Ursula K. Le Guin
Juu progressively loses the ability to relax & enjoy the fantasy: a series (of reviews).
The premise of these, in general and in specific, can make for unparalleled wish fulfillment: cats, but better! the socialization of feral Jane! That these are illustrated is a big part of what makes them so endearing; I don't think I ever read these as a kid, but I internalized the aesthetic via cultural osmosis and it's as good as I imagined.
The first two books do the heavy lifting for the wish-fulfillment. I liked them a lot and in retrospect I should've stopped there. The last two books progress the series, contrasting the Catwings with their unwinged cousins, progressing character arcs—all productive avenues for storytelling but reading less like actual cats & leaning instead into the romanticization of outdoor cats, my #1 pet peeve inlife fiction about cats.
It feels weird to 2-star a Le Guin but, like, these are 50 pages kids books; it feels less damning to find shallow flaws in them than in her """"real"" books & anyway these are flaws that I take personally.
Title: Catwings (Catwings Book 1)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Scholastic, 1990 (1988)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 373,365
Text Number: 1374
Read Because: personal enjoyment, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A stray cat's litter is born with wings that let them escape the city into the questionable safety of the countryside. I struggle with fictional depictions of cats because they frequently feel like pastiche and often romanticize outdated/unsafe practices; this is absolutely not the exception that breaks that rule, but it's not as bad as some and it's counterbalanced by an incredibly constrained length and a premise that makes me realize, oh, that's why romanticized pastiches exist! Cats can't be improved upon, but the whimsy and beauty of a winged cat is such a pleasure, and the illustrations don't hurt.
Title: Catwings Return (Catwings Book 2)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 2006 (1989)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 375,595
Text Number: 1388
Read Because: reading the series, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Two of the catwings fly home to visit their mother, and instead find an abandoned kitten. I retain that impulse to be grumpy about the twee fictionalization of cats, and it doesn't help that the illustrations here are less successful than in the first book. But the fantasy of being a little black winged kitten, shouting "me!" and "hate!" at the world, found by long-lost family and socialized by purrs loud and low, is a daydream most enviable and profound. It's perfect in 50 pages, short enough to leave me wanting more and to constrain the twee; and Mama Jane is adopted into an indoor home!; and Le Guin's depiction of cats, however romanticized, also rings true—which can't be said of most fictionalizations.
Title: Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (Catwings Book 3)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 2006 (1994)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 375,645
Text Number: 1389
Read Because: reading the series, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A brave and handsome kitten finds himself overwhelmed by the dangers of the wider world when he goes on walkabout. This is easily my least favorite in the series so far, despite that I love wingèd baby Jane as a character & as Alexander's rescuer. I adore this bit:
—a very social-model framing of disability which is humorous and honest and compassionate; so I don't like that Alexander then turns around and insta-cures Jane's mutism. There's value in children's books depicting trauma and imagining that trauma can be processed and healed, but to tackle it in the last ten pages still rushes and simplifies the issue in a way that doesn't sit well as an adult reader.
Title: Jane on Her Own (Catwings Book 4)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 1999
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 375,785
Text Number: 1391
Read Because: reading the series, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: This is fine when read as a metaphor about finding one's place in the world and refusing to conform to outside demands & exploitation. But I don't read books about cats metaphorically, and taken literally this is exactly the problematic romanticization of outdoor cats and "freedom" that I despise. It's not out of place for 1999! but that doesn't make me like it any better. But I do still like Jane (especially her dialog), and the illustrations of her are adorable.
The premise of these, in general and in specific, can make for unparalleled wish fulfillment: cats, but better! the socialization of feral Jane! That these are illustrated is a big part of what makes them so endearing; I don't think I ever read these as a kid, but I internalized the aesthetic via cultural osmosis and it's as good as I imagined.
The first two books do the heavy lifting for the wish-fulfillment. I liked them a lot and in retrospect I should've stopped there. The last two books progress the series, contrasting the Catwings with their unwinged cousins, progressing character arcs—all productive avenues for storytelling but reading less like actual cats & leaning instead into the romanticization of outdoor cats, my #1 pet peeve in
It feels weird to 2-star a Le Guin but, like, these are 50 pages kids books; it feels less damning to find shallow flaws in them than in her """"real"" books & anyway these are flaws that I take personally.
Title: Catwings (Catwings Book 1)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Scholastic, 1990 (1988)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 373,365
Text Number: 1374
Read Because: personal enjoyment, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A stray cat's litter is born with wings that let them escape the city into the questionable safety of the countryside. I struggle with fictional depictions of cats because they frequently feel like pastiche and often romanticize outdated/unsafe practices; this is absolutely not the exception that breaks that rule, but it's not as bad as some and it's counterbalanced by an incredibly constrained length and a premise that makes me realize, oh, that's why romanticized pastiches exist! Cats can't be improved upon, but the whimsy and beauty of a winged cat is such a pleasure, and the illustrations don't hurt.
Title: Catwings Return (Catwings Book 2)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 2006 (1989)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 375,595
Text Number: 1388
Read Because: reading the series, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Two of the catwings fly home to visit their mother, and instead find an abandoned kitten. I retain that impulse to be grumpy about the twee fictionalization of cats, and it doesn't help that the illustrations here are less successful than in the first book. But the fantasy of being a little black winged kitten, shouting "me!" and "hate!" at the world, found by long-lost family and socialized by purrs loud and low, is a daydream most enviable and profound. It's perfect in 50 pages, short enough to leave me wanting more and to constrain the twee; and Mama Jane is adopted into an indoor home!; and Le Guin's depiction of cats, however romanticized, also rings true—which can't be said of most fictionalizations.
Title: Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (Catwings Book 3)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 2006 (1994)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 375,645
Text Number: 1389
Read Because: reading the series, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A brave and handsome kitten finds himself overwhelmed by the dangers of the wider world when he goes on walkabout. This is easily my least favorite in the series so far, despite that I love wingèd baby Jane as a character & as Alexander's rescuer. I adore this bit:
"Can't you talk?"
The stranger lashed her tail a little, looking sad.
"Well," said Alexander, "I can't fly."
—a very social-model framing of disability which is humorous and honest and compassionate; so I don't like that Alexander then turns around and insta-cures Jane's mutism. There's value in children's books depicting trauma and imagining that trauma can be processed and healed, but to tackle it in the last ten pages still rushes and simplifies the issue in a way that doesn't sit well as an adult reader.
Title: Jane on Her Own (Catwings Book 4)
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator: S.D. Schindler
Published: Orchard Books, 1999
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 375,785
Text Number: 1391
Read Because: reading the series, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: This is fine when read as a metaphor about finding one's place in the world and refusing to conform to outside demands & exploitation. But I don't read books about cats metaphorically, and taken literally this is exactly the problematic romanticization of outdoor cats and "freedom" that I despise. It's not out of place for 1999! but that doesn't make me like it any better. But I do still like Jane (especially her dialog), and the illustrations of her are adorable.