It's Like This, Cat

Neville, EmilyProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 180K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.It's like this, cat by Emily NevilleAuthor: Neville, Emily,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Mar 27, 2008

Editor's review

It's Like This, Cat is a young adult novel by Emily Cheney Neville. It won the Newbery Medal, and an English e-book edition is available from Project Gutenberg. Told in the first-person voice of a teenage boy, the story follows how his encounter with a cat subtly changes his family relationships, neighborhood interactions, and city life. Its strength lies in its natural tone and vivid dialogue: adolescent awkwardness, sensitivity, and growth are rendered with restraint and without preachiness, while the cat serves as an emotional bond linking parent-child communication and community warmth. The English original is moderately difficult, making it suitable as transitional reading material for young English learners and for parent-child shared reading and discussion of emotional expression and family communication. When reading, don't rush to follow the plot; pay attention to changes in the protagonist's relationship with his father and how everyday details of city neighborhoods drive the characters' psychological growth.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle school students with basic English reading ability who want to try English young adult novels
Parents interested in children's literature and coming-of-age themes who wish to read together with their children
Teachers engaged in English teaching who need supplementary classroom reading materials

Not a good fit for

Young children with limited English vocabulary who cannot yet read original English novels independently
Readers who prefer strong-plot adventure or fantasy and have limited interest in everyday coming-of-age stories
Readers looking for a Chinese translation for teaching or reading

Reading tips

Read one short section per chapter each day; when encountering unfamiliar words, guess first and then look them up, maintaining reading rhythm.
During parent-child shared reading, discuss communication styles around conversations between the protagonist and his father.
After finishing, retell the main storyline in English to practice speaking and summarizing skills.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What English level is this book suitable for?

This is a young adult novel, mainly written in everyday dialogue and first-person narration, with moderate difficulty. Readers with a junior high school English foundation who can read short stories with the help of a dictionary will find it relatively easy to get into; younger readers or those with limited vocabulary are advised to start with graded readers.

Is the cat in the book the protagonist?

The cat is an important bond that drives the plot and emotional changes, but the core of the story is still the boy's growth and family relationships. The cat's appearance changes how the protagonist interacts with his family and neighbors; while reading, pay attention to how these relationship changes unfold.

Is it suitable as parent-child shared reading material?

Yes. The book touches on topics such as parent-child communication, emotional expression, and community interaction, which parents and children can naturally discuss after reading together. Parents are advised to browse the chapters in advance and design discussion questions around the interaction between the protagonist and his father.

Comments

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About the author

Neville, Emily Author

Emily Neville is an author about whom limited information is publicly available, and the verifiable record centers mainly on a single work. She is known to Chinese readers for the novel It's like this, cat, whose title is sometimes rendered in Chinese as "A Cat Like This" or "This Is the Cat." Because her dates of birth and death, nationality, and educational background are unknown, any account of her personal life must remain restrained. Judging from this representative work, Neville is skilled at observing everyday life through an adolescent perspective. Her style is natural and warm, with attention to dialogue and the details of city life. The book has the feel of a coming-of-age novel, focusing on the subtle changes young people experience in family, friendship, and self-understanding. It has attracted attention in English-language children's literature and is regarded by some readers as a work that stays close to the real voice of youth. Overall, Neville's output is small, yet her plain and sincere style leaves an impression; a fuller picture of her life and work still awaits more public information.