it's like this, cat

"Superb....The best junior novel I've ever read about big-city life." -The New York Times

"A fine, honest, flavorful tale." -- -- Chicago Tribune

"Different, humorous, with a touch of the vernacular, and a great feeling for the city and its many peoples." -- -- Saturday Review

The 1964 Newbery Medal winner for excellence in American children's literature.

The lean and quirky and utterly touching story of a fourteen-year-old boy, David Mitchell, living “right in the middle of New York City” with his blustering, sharp-tongued father and his worrying, long-suffering mother... and how he grew to maturity, helped along indirectly by a very special stray cat.

“My father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat...”

“it’s like this, cat’ recounts a year in the life of Dave Mitchell as he completes junior high school and enters high school in New York City. It’s also the story of how he grew to maturity, helped along indirectly by a stray cat that he brought home from Crazy Kate, the neighborhood Cat Lady. Dave, who has bouts of asthma brought on by family strife, lives with his lawyer father and his mother. The cat, named "Cat" lives a wild life that brings Dave in contact with a future friend and girl friend. Dave's adventures take him throughout areas of New York City, and the reader is treated to descriptions of famous city landmarks. With Dave's new cat-related experiences comes an increased appreciation for his parents and deepening care for his new friends. And through his interaction with others, Dave develops the strength of character and emotional maturity to accept and survive life's inevitable tragedies.

Emily Neville was born in Manchester, Connecticut, and now lives in New York City. After receiving her A.B. degree from Bryn Mawr College, she worked as a copy-girl for the New York Daily New and the New York Mirror. Since then she had written many stories about children. It’s Like This, Cat was her first published novel for young people. Mrs. Neville was married to a newspaper-man and was the mother of five children, aged six to eighteen. She died in 1997.