title: The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat
author:  Lynne Berry 
description: PreSchool-Grade 2As Witch prepares for and hosts a party for ghosts, trolls, bats, spooks, and sprites, she asks Cat to fetch things to assist her. But the contrary feline is too busy chasing guests to help. The rhythmic text echoes Witch's plaintive requests and Cat's upturned-nose refusal ('Cat?' said Witch./'Purr?' said Cat./'Chair!' said Witch./'GRRRRR,' said Cat./And that was the end of that). Finally, at the end of the night and of her wits, she conjures up a last spell that needs a toad. When the feline won't fetch one, its final GRRR ends up as rribbit? Rendered with simple lines and crosshatched patterns, the black-and-white pen-and-ink illustrations convey plenty of action and humor. The pictures are full of small details, and the gently spooky characters are loaded with personality. Children will appreciate the tale's amusing predictability and will love chiming in with Witch and Cat as a call-and-response. A perfect choice for Halloween and for group sharing.<i>Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  Chapter One
  
  Surrey, 1820
  
  “Come on now, don’t be afraid. I just want to help you.”
  
  The knarred branch in the oak tree wasn’t as sound as it had looked from the
  ground and flexed each time Eloise shifted her weight. She spread her arms to
  aid her balance as she inched forward, intent upon persuading the stranded
  kitten to come lower. She was frozen to the marrow and had lost all feeling in
  her fingers. She must have been in the tree for more than twenty minutes
  now—time she could ill afford to waste—but she could hardly leave the poor
  creature stuck up here, could she now?
  
  With an agility that belied its supposedly trapped status, the kitten
  eventually leapt onto the branch immediately above Eloise’s head, from which
  it regarded her speculatively through piercing green eyes.
  
  “Good kitten. Now come with me and I’ll take you safely back to the stables.”
  
  Eloise reached up, making fleeting contact with its soft fluffy coat at
  exactly the moment when the ground tremble