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Gobbolino the Witch's Cat: Macmillan Classics Edition (Macmillan Children's Classics Book 5) Kindle Edition

by Ursula Moray Williams (Author), Catherine Rayner (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 148 ratings
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No one could mistake Gobbolino for a simple kitchen cat, with his sparky whiskers and magic tricks, but that's just what the witch's kitten wants to be. Instead of learning how to turn mice into toads for the witch's brew, Gobbolino sets out on an adventure to find a family and a home of his own.

Reissued for its seventy-fifth anniversary with illustrations by the award-winning Catherine Rayner, this classic tale has been loved by generations of children.

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    9 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    257 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Kindergarten - 2
  5. Publisher
    Macmillan Children's Books
  6. Publication date
    January 26, 2017
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  11. ISBN-13
    978-1447273035
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ursula Moray Williams is best known for her children's story Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, which was named as one of Time magazine's Books of the Year. She is also the author of Bogwoppit, The Further Adventures of Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse, and Spid. Catherine Rayner was selected as one of the 10 Best New Illustrators for Booktrust's Big Picture Campaign, and won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2009 for Harris Finds His Feet. Joan Aiken is a children's author best known for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. She is the recipient of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a runner-up for the Carnegie Medal, and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1972 for Night Fall. She is the author of Arabel's Raven, Black Hearts in Battersea, and Midnight is a Place.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N0SX3SA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Children's Books; Main Market edition (January 26, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 26, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3438 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 148 ratings

About the author

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Ursula Moray Williams

Ursula Moray Williams

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
148 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

pargae
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
evey cat lover should read this book
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Michelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story about a misunderstood cat
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2020
This is an easy read that keeps you longing to get to the next page. It takes you on an adventure with Gobbolino through the kingdom. If you love cats you will surely love Gobbolino.
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Nerine Dorman
4.0 out of 5 stars A fun, read-aloud story
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2022
Gobbolino's tale first came to life for me when I was six, when my mom and dad invested in the Storyteller books with their cassettes for me – so this was my very first introduction to reading: an abridged version of Ursula Moray Williams' children's classic, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat. I've always wanted to go back at some point and revisit the source material, and while picking up a copy here in South Africa is tricky, Open Library nevertheless came to the rescue – a great resource for anyone looking for hard-to-find, out-of-print editions of books. I have no problem reading on screen, and the nice thing with Open Library is that you can enlarge the print quite comfortably.

This is very much the sort of book that benefits from being read aloud at bedtime. The chapters are short and contained, and they follow Gobbolino's misadventures as he seeks to distance himself from the evil of his upbringing as a witch's kitten to his rather lofty ambition of becoming a kitchen cat. Now, many years later, this sort of witches and magic = bad is a bit simplistic for me, especially in the light of so many stories where witches and wizards feature who are not evil. But it is what it is is, and Gobbolino is a little anthropomorphised kitty who talks, minds the kitchen and talks to children. Don't overthink things. Williams's moralising also annoyed me somewhat as an adult, but once again, I don't think this sort of thinking might bother smaller children.

We see Gobbolino try his luck as a ship's cat, a mayor's cat, a knight's cat, a cat attached to travelling performers – and all the while his heritage and abilities as a witch's cat hold him back or cause trouble for him when he tries to do good. Because he is a good kitty, and he wants to please.

If you do lay hands on a copy of this book, read it out loud to your littlies. Try to do all the voices and have fun with the story – because that's what it is. A lovely little redemption arc for a kitten who couldn't help the accident of his birth. But I'm firmly Team Sootica. So there. Meow.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bunyip Bluegum
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely hard-back edition of a much loved childhood classic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved this book as a young child, I had the pink covered Puffin edition and read it to death. In the intervening years it got thrown out from my parent's house in one of my father's fits of "clearing". I was delighted to be able to obtain a new edition for my grandchildren (newly born so not ready for it yet!) and I can only hope they enjoy it as much as I did. The new illustrations are lovely, and the hard-back somewhat more resilient to wear and tear than my old paperback.
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Molly Bloom
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it, so do my own children
Reviewed in Canada on January 26, 2020
Verified Purchase
My children loved this as much as I remember doing. It’s been a family favourite since my first child was old enough (about 5) and now my youngest is growing to love it.
The story is sweet and innocent - Gobbolino the little witch’s kitten just wants to be a kitchen cat, but it takes him a long journey and many adventures to achieve his dream. Along the way he helps many people, from the three little orphan brothers adopted by the mayor to a ship full of sailors whom he saves from a sea witch. Happy ending and sound moral lessons guaranteed.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gobbling the witches cat.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2023
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I first read this book when I was twelve, I am sixty eight now, Gobbolino is a great read and worthy of any age for reading to small children ,those who can read independantly, oldies like me who enjoy stories from childhood, Gobbolino is ageless exciting , sad, uplifting, he has morals, kindness empathy, like all of us he wants love and understanding for who he is acceptance and to not be alone in a harsh world.
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Mark Cornell
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
My cat loving 9 year old loves this story. We first came across the story of Gobbolino listening to the old Storyteller tapes and he loved it so much I wanted to see if it existed in book form. Was thrilled to learn it’s quite a classic and my mother in law even remembers it from her childhood.

Currently reading it to my class of year 3 children who are hooked. Poor little Gobbolino experiences so many misfortunes, it really appeals to children’s natural sense of injustice. It might be a little twee by today’s standards but I honestly think it’s aged extremely well!
2 people found this helpful
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Coast27
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful hard back book about a kitten
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
Beautiful hard back book, such a lovely present we bought two.

Lovely childhood story about a kitten who is trying to fit in.
2 people found this helpful
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