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- Title: Kittens and Cats: A Book of Tales
- Author: Eulalie Osgood Grover
- Narrator: Rosslyn Carlyle
- Length: 00:34:58
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 08/01/2017
- Publisher: LibriVox
- Genre: Kids, Animals & Nature
- ISBN13: SABLIB9789007
It reminds me of a time when I was a kid, sprawled out on the living room floor of my abuela’s house in San Juan, Puerto Rico, surrounded by a clowder of stray cats she’d taken in. Their purring was the soundtrack to my childhood summers, and I’d lose myself in stories – some from books, some from her lips. So when I stumbled across “Kittens and Cats: A Book of Tales” by Eulalie Osgood Grover, narrated by Rosslyn Carlyle, available as a free audiobook from LibriVox, it felt like a homecoming. This little gem, originally published in 1911, whisked me back to those days of feline fascination and oral storytelling, blending nostalgia with a fresh listening experience.
The story unfolds like a sun-warmed afternoon, slow and deliberate, as if you’re sitting at the feet of a wise elder – or, in this case, the Queen of Cats herself. Grover crafts fifty-two bite-sized tales, each a purr of whimsy designed to teach children how to read while enchanting them with the antics of kittens and cats. Picture this: a grand party thrown by the Queen of Cats, where feline narrators spin yarns about their kind, often riffing on nursery rhymes like ‘The Cat and the Fiddle’ with a wink and a whisker. You can almost hear the rustle of their fur and the soft thud of paws on velvet cushions. It’s a clever mix of education and imagination, rooted in Grover’s mission to make literacy accessible through the universal language of cats – those mysterious companions that have captivated kids (and adults like me) for centuries.
This audiobook experience hit me square in the chest, stirring up memories of another storytelling moment. While staying with a family in Oaxaca years ago, I’d sit on their terraza every evening, sipping mezcal as their abuela wove tales of trickster spirits and lost loves. Her voice had this cadence – pauses heavy with meaning, a rhythm that pulled you in like a tide. Rosslyn Carlyle, the narrator of “Kittens and Cats”, channels something similar. Her delivery is warm and measured, with a playful lilt that suits the book’s childlike wonder. You can almost feel the texture of the tales through her tone – soft as a kitten’s fur when she mimics their voices, regal when she embodies the Queen. The audio quality, crisp and clear despite its public domain roots, enhances the intimacy, making it feel like she’s reading just to you, maybe by a crackling fire or under a starry desert sky.
Grover’s tales are deceptively simple, but there’s depth here if you listen close. The themes – kindness, companionship, curiosity – speak to kids in a language they get instinctively. Take the story of a kitten pondering its reflection or another riffing on ‘Three Little Kittens’ with a moral twist about helping others. These aren’t just cute anecdotes; they’re lessons wrapped in whiskers, reflecting Grover’s knack for educational storytelling, honed through her wildly popular “Sunbonnet Babies” series. Back in 1911, she paired these tales with photographs of real cats – a radical move for the time – to hook young readers. The audiobook swaps visuals for voice, but Carlyle’s narration paints the scenes vividly enough that I could picture those fuzzy faces posing for the camera.
That said, the book’s not without its quirks. The tone can lean sentimental – think Victorian-era sweetness that might feel cloying to modern ears raised on snappier kids’ fare like “The Gruffalo”. Some stories repeat beats, and the nursery rhyme remixes, while charming, don’t always land with the punch of the originals. Yet there’s a historical magic to it, a snapshot of early 20th-century children’s lit when animals were the gateway to learning. Compared to Beatrix Potter’s sharper tales or T.S. Eliot’s sly “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”, Grover’s work is softer, more pedagogical, but it shares that same love for anthropomorphic charm.
Carlyle’s performance is the glue here. She doesn’t overact – thank goodness – but lets the stories breathe, giving each cat its own subtle personality. Her pacing suits the short bursts of narrative, perfect for a child’s attention span or an adult’s quick escape into whimsy. The free audiobook format, clocking in at just over two hours, makes it an easy dip into a bygone era. No frills, no cost – just pure, unadulterated storytelling, the kind I’d have devoured as a kid with a stray cat curled up beside me.
For me, this listening experience was a bridge between past and present. It reminded me of driving through Chile’s Atacama Desert, the surreal dunes stretching out like a dreamscape, while Gabriel García Márquez’s voice (via audiobook) filled the car with magical realism. Carlyle’s narration isn’t as dramatic, but it has that same campfire intimacy – each tale a little ember glowing in the dark. I’d recommend this to parents looking for a gentle, free audiobook for their kids, or to anyone who, like me, finds comfort in the quiet companionship of cats and stories. It’s not high literature, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a warm lap, a soft purr, a moment of connection.
Still, I wonder what my abuela would’ve thought. She’d probably have chuckled at the Queen of Cats, then added her own twist – maybe a tale of a Puerto Rican gato outsmarting a storm. That’s the beauty of “Kittens and Cats”: it invites you in, not just to listen, but to dream up your own feline fables. For a couple of hours, it’s a journey worth taking – especially when it’s free.
Hasta la próxima aventura, with a tale and a tail to tell,
Marcus Rivera
