''The Mousehole Cat'' is a children's book written by

Antonia Barber Antonia Barber (real name Barbara Anthony; 10 December 1932 - 4 April 2019), was an English author of books for children and adults. Barber resided in Kent and Mousehole, Cornwall. Her book ''The Mousehole Cat'' was adapted as an animated film a ...

and illustrated by Nicola Bayley. Based on the legend of Cornish fisherman

Tom Bawcock Tom Bawcock is a legendary character from the village of Mousehole, Cornwall, England. He appears to have been a local fisherman in the 16th century. According to the legend, one winter had been particularly stormy, meaning that none of the fish ...

and the

stargazy pie Stargazy pie (sometimes called starrey gazey pie, stargazey pie and other variants) is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (sardines), along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust. Although there are a few variations using othe ...

, it tells the tale of a cat who goes with its owner on a fishing expedition in rough and stormy seas. The book has won awards, including the 1998

British Book Award The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National ...

for Illustrated Children's Book of the Month. It has since been adapted into a 2015 animated film, a puppet show and is being adapted as a stage musical.

Plot

One very stormy winter, none of the fishermen of the village of

Mousehole Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ab ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

have been able to leave the harbour for a long while and the village is near starvation.

(only called 'Tom' in the book) and his loyal black and white cat, Mowzer, decide to brave the storms and set sail to catch some fish. When the boat hits the storm, it is represented by a giant "Storm-Cat", which allows Mowzer to eventually save the day by soothing the storm with her purring. This purring becomes a song and while the Storm-Cat is resting Tom is able to haul in his catch and return to harbour. When they arrive back at the village, the entire catch is cooked into various dishes, including half a hundred "star-gazy" pies, on which the villagers feast.

Layout

The book is laid out to encourage reading with a child; it is wide enough to fit across two laps. The illustrations are "framed" within the pages, with a general background of a seascape and the illustration related to the page shown in a window.

Awards

Besides winning the Illustrated Children's Book of the Year at the 1991

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National ...

and the British Design Production Award (Children's Books), the book was shortlisted for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize children's choice, the Children's Book Award and was commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Other versions

In 1994, Grasshopper Productions and The Red Green & Blue Company created an animated version of the tale for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, narrated by

Sian Phillips Sian or Siyan may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Siân, a Welsh girl's name; list of people with this name Places *Sian, Iran (disambiguation), various places in Iran *Sian, Russia, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia *Xi'an, China, formerly roman ...

. In 2011, the tale was adapted into a puppet show by PuppetCraft. The book has been featured on '' Jackanory Junior'' for the BBC, read by

Shobna Gulati Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966)www.shobnagulati.co.uk
Shobna Gulati official website is an English ...

; it was first broadcast on 22 June 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mousehole Cat 1991 children's books British Book Award-winning works Cornwall in fiction Books about cats Mousehole