Cat Running

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Book Overview

When eleven-year-old Cat Kinsey builds a secret hideout to escape her unhappy homelife, she slowly gets to know a poor family who have come to California after losing their Texas home to the dust... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385310560
• ISBN13: 9780385310567
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Cat's Biggest Race...

One of the best young adult books I've read. Ok, I remember reading this book when I was twelve-years-old, and then forgeting about it. Awhile back I was browsing a used bookstore and found this book and thought it would be great to re-read it. Cat is a twelve-year-old girl who is also the fastest runner in school. She wants to enter the school play day races but her father won't let her wear pants. Remember this book is about a girl living in the depression, so a lot of women and girls didn't wear pants. Anyway, out of protest Cat refuses to race, and instead a new kid named Zane wins the boys race. He is a refugee from Texas, or an Okie. Okies are refugees who escaped from Texas and Oklahoma and moved to California to start a better life because their farms were ruined by dust storms. Anyway, Cat also has a secret cave in the woods behind her house where she can go to be alone. One day she finds a little girl in her hiding place, and it turns out to be Zane's sister. At first Cat is mean to the little girl because she doesn't like her brother, but as time pasts she begins a friendship with her. One day the little girl doesn't show up at hiding place, and Cat begins to worry. She goes over to the Okie camp and learns that the girl is very sick and could die if she doesn't get help. So, Cat and Zane have what the author states is their biggest race. Which pretty much means that they have to run very fast to get a doctor or the little girl will die. Well, this is a really good book and I'm glad to have read it again.

A Wonderful, Thought-Provoking Book

Cat Running is the emotional story of a sixth-grade girl who reluctantly becomes friends with a family of Dust Bowl refugees that have moved into her town. Although it may take readers a little while to get into the story, they will be glad they did in the end. Even students who are not normally fans of historical fiction will fall in love with this heart-wrenching story. Children who read this will definitely have to be advanced readers to enjoy this book. The author goes into great detail when describing the setting of the story, which many children will find extremely interesting, but the ones who are not used to reading might be bored to tears. A lot of insight is to be gained from the setting, though. Many students will not have known much about the Dust Bowl and the Depression until they have read this book. The characters in the book are also wonderful. Children will find it touching to see the relationship that Cat forms with the "Okies", especially the little girl, Sammy. And of course, the climax of the story centers on Sammy and her bout with pneumonia. It is truly moving to see the way Cat and Sammy's family care for her. Readers will no doubt find at least one character they can relate to, as there is a wide array of characters in this book. The entire book carries an underlying theme that will teach such an important lesson to children-to look beyond physical differences and a family's background. The author cleverly ties lessons about poverty, prejudice, and helping those in need into this amazing story of self-discovery. The old cliché holds true: It's what's on the inside that counts.

Running Review

If you or someone you know has ever been interested in sports, then "Cat Running" by Zilpha Snyder, is the right book for you. "Cat Running" is about a young girl who is attempting to grow up into an intellectual adult. She lives in a little town with her tight- knit family and goes to a little school- "Brownwood." Cat Kinsey is not an average girl in this town. She is the fastest runner and last year, easily won the school race. Her mother is a housewife and her father is never home. He is very old-fashioned and will not allow Cat to be and do everything she wants because he thinks that it is not proper for little girls to be running around and acting like boys. Cat loves running and she doesn't only do it because it is fun for her, she uses it as a way to deal with or run away from her problems. This year, a new boy came to their school. His name is Zane and he's an "okie"-this is what they called a person who is not wealthy or someone who is dirty and uneducated. Cat has seen him run before and she was amazed at how fast this kid was. She decided that at this year's race, she was going to need all the help she could get to win once more. Cat decided to ask her father if she could wear pants this year just like every other girl would be, but of course her father was opposed to it. This made Cat furious and she decided not to run in the race at all. Zane and Cat didn't get along, however, cat did become very good friends with Zane's little sister, Sammy... Read this book full of adventure and inseparable friendship and find out what real friendship is. I really liked this book because the descriptions were very detailed and that made it easy to imagine what is happening throughout the book. Also there is a lot of action and adventure, which keeps the reader "on their toes." There is a bit of humor and drama mixed into the plot and I think anyone that reads this book could relate in some way.

What a great book!

What a great book! This is a story about Cat Kinsey, a girl, about 12 or 13. Cat is the fastest runner at Brownwood School, so naturally she wants to compete in the race. Cat wants to wear slacks while running, but her father thinks it unseemly for a girl to be wearing boy's clothes. Cat is so upset that she decides not to race at all. Cat finds a grove in the woods and decides to put some of her possessions there. Then, a boy named Zane Perkins, an Okie, comes to Brownwood. He won the race, so everyone at school eggs Cat and Zane to race, but Cat doesn't want to. Cat meets Sammy, Zane's little sister, playing in her grove, with "Lillybelle" (that's what Sammy calls Cat's doll). Cat and Sammy become great friends. But Sammy gets pneumonia and she is likely to die. Zane and Cat finally get to race, running for a doctor, but this time, it's not for fun or entertainment, but it depends on life or death. This book is one of my favorites, and I think many people would enjoy it.

Cool!

I really liked Cat Running! I thought it was well written and gave many facts. It was also realistic because the ending wasn't like her father saying, "okay, okay, you can wear slacks." It had lots of important values and friendship in it.