Gobbolino is a cat who can do magic but, despite his family’s traditions, he doesn’t want to be a witch’s cat. All Gobbolino yearns for is to be a quiet, fireside, kitchen cat. But how can he find a home? Gobbolino’s search for the perfect home is a series of delightful adventures taking him from an orphanage to a palace, a sailing ship to a travelling Punch and Judy show. Everywhere that the home-seeking Gobbolino goes, he finds love and generosity – the very thing that he is searching for as a contrast to the cruelty of witches. The late, great Joan Aiken supplied a foreword.
One of a range of Macmillan Classics, beautifully produced hardback editions of some of the best-loved stories from the past. Each has a introduction by another author who, in their turn, have been influenced by the great writers of these books.
Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat: Macmillan Classics Edition Synopsis
With his sparky whiskers and magic tricks, no one could mistake Gobbolino for a simple kitchen cat, but that's just what the witch's kitten wants to be. Instead of learning how to turn mice into toads for the witch's brew, Gobbolino sets out on an adventure to find a family and a home of his own.
Gobbolino has been delighting readers since 1942. With glorious illustrations by Catherine Rayner, a ribbon marker and a foreword by Joan Aiken, this beautiful hardback edition of Ursula Moray Williams's Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is a truly special gift to treasure.
Ursula Moray Williams wrote and illustrated over 70 children's books in her lifetime. Born in 1911, she was one of identical twins, both of whom started to write and illustrate their own books at a young age. After spending time in France, Ursula's first book Jean Pierre was published when she was just twenty. Set in the Haute-Savoie region which she knew so well, it followed the adventures of a small boy and his pet goat. Moray Williams wrote her most famous story, The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, in 1938, in which a little toy horse is separated from his toymaker ‘uncle' and must endure many dangerous adventures before finally finding a happy ending. A few years later in, 1942, she went on to write Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat, which soon became a firm favourite with children. Her books have been illustrated by Edward Ardizzone and Shirley Hughes, among others.
