Five Black Cats

Five black cats in the moonlight meet spooky new friends on Halloween night! Follow the five brave, black cats as they go on a ghostly rhyming adventure!

Ten Scottish yarns of ghosts, demons, and magic spells are sure to spook and delight Throughout the ages, supernatural stories about curses and superstitions have been a popular topic for gossip among the Scottish people. The odds are good that every Scottish family you talk to knows at least one eerie tale that will keep you up at night. In Twelve Great Black Cats, Sorche Nic Leodhas captures strange stories of monsters, magic, and even a little bit of humor. With stories including “The Honest Ghost,” “The Weeping Lass at the Dancing Place,” and “The Shepherd Who Fought the March Wind,” this collection is an eclectic mix of horror and fun.

Conjure up the perfect Halloween read with this 3D novelty board book that’s shaped like a black cat! Black cat sets out on Halloween in the dark, without being seen. One black cat is out on Halloween night. As he walks along, he meets some trick-or-treaters dressed as unicorns, superheroes, and princesses! Will he be able to find his perfect witch? One Black Cat is a perfectly playful celebration of Halloween night!

Racism is resilient, duplicitous, and endlessly adaptable, so it is no surprise that America is again in a period of civil rights activism. A significant reason racism endures is because it is structural: it's embedded in culture and in institutions. One of the places that racism hides-and thus perhaps the best place to oppose it-is books for young people. Was the Cat in the Hat Black? presents five serious critiques of the history and current state of children's literature tempestuous relationship with both implicit and explicit forms of racism. The book fearlessly examines topics both vivid-such as The Cat in the Hat's roots in blackface minstrelsy-and more opaque, like how the children's book industry can perpetuate structural racism via whitewashed covers even while making efforts to increase diversity. Rooted in research yet written with a lively, crackling touch, Nel delves into years of literary criticism and recent sociological data in order to show a better way forward. Though much of what is proposed here could be endlessly argued, the knowledge that what we learn in childhood imparts both subtle and explicit lessons about whose lives matter is not debatable. The text concludes with a short and stark proposal of actions everyone-reader, author, publisher, scholar, citizen- can take to fight the biases and prejudices that infect children's literature. While Was the Cat in the Hat Black? does not assume it has all the answers to such a deeply systemic problem, its audacity should stimulate discussion and activism.

“Filled with true-life tales and stunning hand-drawn portraits . . . a loving tribute to feline eccentricity and charm.” —Real Simple This “brilliant” illustrated book (New York Magazine) dives whiskers first into the unique personality, charisma, and character of fifty real all-black cats. From Alfie, who has no tolerance for wet humans or being ignored, to Sashi, who enjoys freeze-dried chicken by candlelight and full-on body rubs, each cat comes to life through a lovingly hand-drawn portrait and quick-witted profile. Delightfully quirky and utterly charming, this motley crew of black cats will win over anyone with a dry sense of humor. “So fun and sweet.” —Paul Feig, film director and author of Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence “This book . . . is the pick of the litter.” —US Weekly

Describes how black cats celebrate Halloween each year, including helping witches with their magic and scaring people.

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" is a short story that explores themes of guilt and perversity. The narrator, haunted by cruelty to his black cat and acts of domestic violence, is consumed by paranoia and madness. His attempt to conceal a crime leads to his own disgrace.