''Whittington'' is a children's fantasy novel by

Alan Armstrong Alan W. Armstrong (born December 15, 1939) is an American writer. His best known book is the children's novel ''Whittington'', published in 2005, which was a Newbery Medal honor book. Armstrong is married and lives in Massachusetts. Works *; r ...

, published by Random House in 2005 with illustrations by S. D. Schindler. It was a 2006 Newbery Honor Book (

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

finalist) and an ALA Notable Book for Children.

Plot introduction

The story is about a cat named Whittington that goes to live in a barn that is owned by a man named Bernie. Ben and Abby, Bernie's grandchildren, come to the barn. Ben struggles with reading in school. Ben has

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

and is struggling to learn how to read. He has been told by the school principal that if his reading skills do not improve, he will not advance to the next grade. Whittington tells the story of his namesake, a man named

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

, which encourages Ben.

The three stories in ''Whittington''

Three stories merge in the novel. The first is about Whittington, a scruffy tomcat, descended from Dick Whittington's legendary cat, who wants to become part of the community in a barn full of animal outcasts kept by the kindly Bernie and his grandchildren, Ben and Abby. The second is the cat's retelling of the story of his famous ancestor, Dick Whittington's cat. The story of Dick and his cat, based in reality but told in legends dating back to the early 17th century and recounted in several modern books listed in the Endnote, is a rags-to-riches tale of a poor boy led to fame and fortune by an unusual pet with a knack for killing rats. The third is about dyslexic Ben's efforts to learn to read before he is held back and placed in

Special Ed Edward K. Archer (born May 16, 1972), known professionally as Special Ed, is an American rapper and producer. Ed is perhaps best known for the songs "I Got It Made", "Think About It" and "I'm the Magnificent" from his debut album '' Youngest in ...

. The last two parallel each other to a certain extent, as Dick struggles to make his way in the world and Ben struggles with his frustration and fear. Dick is helped by his cat, who steers him to both fortune and love. Ben is helped by all the barn animals, who convince his sister to set up lessons in the barn, and get him to try out the Reading Recovery program at school, despite the teasing of his classmates.

Publication

*; reprint, Random House Digital, Inc., 2005,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington (Novel) 2005 American novels Newbery Honor-winning works American children's novels Children's novels about cats 2005 children's books