Cat lovers of all ages, adults and children alike, will love this book. It is a tale about Ailsa, a true cat who belonged to artist Ruth MacLean. Ailsa was one of those originals who delight in the discovery of the world around them. Her tireless pursuit of the truth led her into unexpected tangles, whether learning to spin wool or unravelling it beneath the bed. Her many ploys became the inspiration behind this book. The loss of her tail did nothing to deter her. In fact, she became the mother of kittens, fathered by her very good friend, Whitey, who plays a charismatic supporting role in the unfolding tale.Artist Ruth MacLean has captured the essence of Ailsa's mischievous character with masterly and colourful paper cut-outs. Writer and book designer Catherine Wilson has matched Ruth's pictures with verses that are charming and witty, and in keeping with Ailsa's sense of fun. This is a quality book, it is original and beautiful, and will be enjoyed again and again.

 

There are 112 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2007 by AILSAPRESS .

CATHERINE WILSON lives on the island of Islay. She began her writing career when she was teaching at Secondary Schools in East Africa. Later she worked for the BBC and became the author of educational texts. She has collaborated with Ruth on several children's books all published by Ailsapres, which she helped to found in 2007. She has also trained as an artist and the line drawings in the margins of the text are hers. RUTH MACLEAN was born and raised in Toronto, and trained in Fine Art and Theology. From early childhood she has been familiar with the Tom Thomson territory in Ontario where her Scottish forebears first settled. Like Tom Thomson before her, she has always drawn inspiration from nature. She loves to paint and draw landscape, also to spin and dye wool with plants. She honours nature with her earth-spirit dolls and other sacred pieces. Catherine Wilson, author of the Bramble and Coultoon series, is also the founder of Ailsapress, a small independent publishing company based on the island of Islay. Ailsapress publishes works of local island interest.