Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat
T.S.Eliot and Arthur Robins
Faber & Faber Children’s Books
It’s 11.39, time for the Night Mail train to depart; so it’s all aboard and off we go! Not quite: where is Skimbleshanks?

The train can’t start without him.
In the nick of time, he appears, the ‘All Clear!’ is given and the train leaves bound for the ‘northern part of the Northern Hemisphere.’ And there’s no doubt about who’s in charge.: ‘From the driver and the guards to the / bagmen playing cards/ He will supervise them all, more or less.’

Up and down the corridor he paces, patrolling and keeping watch for any bad behaviour on the part of the passengers …

Those sleeping berths must be kept just spotless with all the amenities in full working order …

And there are people to meet and greet while all the passengers are fast asleep: that too is Skimble’s job as is summoning the police (that’s at Dumfries)

or helping passengers to descend (at Gallowgate). All this and more takes place if you join another feline star in Arthur Robins’ third picture book interpretation of verses from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
Once again, Robins’ cartoon style visuals are full of deliciously dotty details. No matter if you’re a cat lover (I’m not), a poetry lover (that’s me) or neither, you’ll still find plenty to amuse herein. Share it, shout it or simply enjoy it alone or with others, young or not so young.

Patch’s Grand Dog Show
Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne
Pavilion Books
Loner and slightly strange-looking dog, Patch is passing his time as usual sitting in the park when he hears from the other side of same, a whole lot of woofing, yapping and barking. On investigating he discovers …

His inquiry, “Can anyone enter?” is met with derision from the other dogs so a downcast Patch goes off to hide himself. But then he has an idea: an idea involving his ball and a special trick. Even then though, the sight of all those seemingly perfect pampered pooches adopting all manner of prize-seeking poses and performing all kinds of clever moves to impress the judges – here are a couple of the former …

his courage fails him. In the face of such finery, poor Patch feels even more inferior and lonely until he hears an announcement: “AND The Dog The Judge Would Most Like to Take Home IS …”
No prizes for guessing which one that is.

I’m no dog lover, far from it (having been mauled by an Alsatian as a child), but these knitted creatures are delightful. What’s more there are instructions on how to knit a Patch at the back of the book. Do look closely at each illustration and you’ll see how cleverly textured each one is. The artwork itself is likely to be an inspiration for children to create their own woolly scenes.

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