MR. McGRATT AND THE ORNERY CAT

After a very slow start, Helmer’s story of two grumps finding one another comes to a gratifying conclusion. Mr. McGratt has his problems, but when it comes to the ornery cat that arrives one day and won’t leave, he becomes angry, bellowing, “Scat! Scram! Skedaddle!” Three times, various neighbors take the cat off Mr. McGratt’s hands, and three times they return the beast. Slyly worked into the story are the cat’s positive features: he chases the starlings out of the pear tree; he fends off the newspaper-shredding neighborhood dog; he keeps Mr. McGratt’s pumpkin patch clear of gourd-smashing trespassers. Helmer never trumpets those talents, so it comes as a pleasant revelation when they are summed up at the end of the book and appreciated by Mr. McGratt, who offers the cat a home. A crafty introduction to kismet, and a nice story to boot. (Picture book. 3-7)