TITANICAT

Young Jim Mulholland’s very excited to be a cabin boy on the new ship Titanic. It’s not only the ship’s maiden voyage, but his as well. He deems it good luck when a tortoiseshell cat greets him at the ship’s berth. She turns out to be the ship’s cat, and Jim is put in charge of her. He discovers she’s just had a litter onboard, and Jim has his hands full with both cats and chores. In Southampton, Jim sees the cat taking her kittens ashore as the passengers are boarding. The cat isn’t fast enough to get all her kittens, so Jim helps and finds himself stranded on shore as the ship leaves. When news of the disaster breaks, Jim thanks the mother cat for sharing her luck with him. Based on stories that came to light only recently, Crisp’s tale is told well enough. Papp’s photorealistic paintings are beautiful but overdramatic, and the cats are inconsistently colored. Still, this will please young Titanicophiles and some kitten fans. (bibliography, author’s note) (Picture book. 5-9)