Books with author Emily Neville

"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.

"Superb. The best junior novel I've ever read about big-city life." — The New York Times. After another fight with Pop, 14-year-old Dave storms out of their apartment and nearly gets hit by a car. Kate, the local cat lady, comes to the rescue, and Dave returns home with an ally: Cat, the stray tom that becomes Dave's confidante and his key to new friendships and experiences. Cat inadvertently leads Dave to Tom, a troubled 19-year-old who needs help, and Mary, a shy girl who opens Dave's eyes and ears to music and theater. Even the Cat-related confrontations with Pop take on a new spirit, with less shouting and more understanding.It's Like This, Cat offers a vivid tour of New York City in the 1960s. From the genteel environs of Gramercy Park to a bohemian corner of Coney Island, the atmospheric journey is punctuated by stickball games, pastrami sandwiches, and a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Recounted with humor, a remarkably realistic teenage voice, and Emil Weiss's pitch-perfect illustrations, this 1964 Newbery Award-winning tale recaptures the excitement and challenges of growing up in the big city.

It’s Like This Cat is an award-winning novel written by Emily Neville and published in 1963. The book won the Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature just one year after it was published, and remains to this day one of the most loved works of children’s fiction available. It follows the story of a young boy named Dave Mitchell who is only 14, but has constant fights with his father. The fights normally end with Dave storming out of the house as his mother has an asthma attack triggered by the shouting and emotional turmoil. Dave’s cat – which he got simply to do the exact opposite of what his father wanted, which was to get a dog – soon begins to change his life as it leads him to meet a young boy named Tom and a girl named Mary. The two delightful children lead Dave to new realizations about life, and soon help him realize the complexities of his own family’s existence as well. The story is written in simple language, and meant for children who are aware enough to face family related issues, albeit told in a playful and eye-catching fashion. Emily Neville uses her delightful writing style and exceptional skill to lure both adults and children little by little into her captivating and quite realistic world, where genuine solutions can be found even to the most problematic of family troubles. Fun, enjoyable, and also emotionally intense at some level, It’s Like This Cat is not your usual children’s story. Its thought-provoking ideas were well ahead of the era it was written in, but came at an opportune time when the mentality of younger people in America were about to be radically transformed. For anyone who would enjoy a fun, exciting and highly meaningful book that is also full of wisdom, It’s Like This Cat by Emily Neville is a highly recommended peace of children’s literature.

"Superb. The best junior novel I've ever read about big-city life." — The New York Times. After another fight with Pop, 14-year-old Dave storms out of their apartment and nearly gets hit by a car. Kate, the local cat lady, comes to the rescue, and Dave returns home with an ally: Cat, the stray tom that becomes Dave's confidante and his key to new friendships and experiences. Cat inadvertently leads Dave to Tom, a troubled 19-year-old who needs help, and Mary, a shy girl who opens Dave's eyes and ears to music and theater. Even the Cat-related confrontations with Pop take on a new spirit, with less shouting and more understanding.It's Like This, Cat offers a vivid tour of New York City in the 1960s. From the genteel environs of Gramercy Park to a bohemian corner of Coney Island, the atmospheric journey is punctuated by stickball games, pastrami sandwiches, and a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. Recounted with humor, a remarkably realistic teenage voice, and Emil Weiss's pitch-perfect illustrations, this 1964 Newbery Award-winning tale recaptures the excitement and challenges of growing up in the big city.

IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT tells the coming-of-age story of Dave Mitchell, a sensitive 14-year-old boy growing up in New York in the early 1960s. Dave is an only child who fights with his father. His confidant is "Aunt Kate," the crazy cat lady down the street. When "Aunt Kate" introduces Dave to Cat, an orange-striped tomcat, he suddenly has a new best friend who accompanies him everywhere. A classic tale of a young man growing up, believably and poignantly told, IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT won the 1964 Newbery Award. "Superb -- the best junior novel I've ever read about big-city life." -- The New York Times "The thoughts, feelings, and activities of an adolescent boy in contemporary New York City, perceptively revealed in a skillfully written narrative." -- Booklist

My father is always talking about how a dog can be very educational for a boy. This is one reason I got a cat. My father talks a lot anyway. Maybe being a lawyer he gets in the habit. Also, he’s a small guy with very little gray curly hair, so maybe he thinks he’s got to roar a lot to make up for not being a big hairy tough guy. Mom is thin and quiet, and when anything upsets her, she gets asthma. In the apartment—we live right in the middle of New York City—we don’t have any heavy drapes or rugs, and Mom never fries any food because the doctors figure dust and smoke make her asthma worse. I don’t think it’s dust; I think it’s Pop’s roaring. The big hassle that led to me getting Cat came when I earned some extra money baby-sitting for a little boy around the corner on Gramercy Park. I spent the money on a Belafonte record. This record has one piece about a father telling his son about the birds and the bees. I think it’s funny. Pop blows his stack.