We've all heard of the black Halloween cat, and their undeniable correlated to witches and magic. We've even heard that one crossing your path means 7 years of bad luck. The Black Cat's Message sticks true to that tale, as an older couple accept a new cat inside their home, despite neighbor's warnings, and soon come to realize that the suspicions reign true, they're new family member is a witch. Actually, she's the queen of all witches.
A Black Cat's Message falls in the Folklore genre because it has an unknown author, originated by word of mouth, includes elements of fantasy and entertains its readers. Most folklore is intended to teach readers or guide behavior. It varies culture by culture and often expresses beliefs, values and customs. There are many categories in folklore, from animal tales, tall tales, fables, myths, rhymes and fairy tails. This story falls under animal fantasy, because it includes talking animals. There can be illustrations in Folklore, however in the original stories there obviously are not, and this book is not an exclusion.
The style of this story is easy to follow and very imaginative, as the author gives great detail to the characters and their actions. For instance, "I bent down and scratched the yellow cat under the chin. She purred and stretched." (Americanfolklore.net) The setting is in older times, the wife stays home to care for the house and the husband, despite being retired, goes out and works at the mill and still attends to the farm and other homely duties. I believe the point of the story is to entertain and continue to the beliefs that cats are magical, mystery and witch-like.
One activity using this folklore in the classroom could be done during centers the week of Halloween. Generally students are a little hyped up this week so educators work to make it more relaxed and fun. There could be a center in which the students sit with the teacher and read through this story together. Prior to reading, the teacher could ask students what they've heard about black cats, and if they find them spooky or not. This could lead to the discussion on myths and folklore. After reading, students could rewrite the story from the perspective of the cat. It can be a fun and exciting way to get students thinking and including literary elements in their story. It could also demonstrate their level of reading comprehension.
Teachers could also use A Black Cat's Message to teach about cultures. For instance, in American culture we believe in "luck." Broken mirrors are bad luck, four leaf clovers and lady bugs brings about good luck! Now, that may not have originated in our country but "luck" is discussed often in our culture. Teachers could begin with a discussion about culture and ask students to share what background knowledge they have on culture. From here, the story could be read with enthusiasm, and then the class could break into small group to tackle a worksheet on the similarities and differences in our culture and others. Group 1 could have Mexican culture, 2 could have Indian, 3 could have European, and 4 could have Asian culture. From here, students would use resources to answer questions like "What's the biggest difference between our culture and _______?" or "List and explain the similarities," etc. Then, students could share their findings to the class so that everyone gains insight on the various cultures.
Reader Response Questions:
- Did you ever find out who Aunt Kan was?
- Explain why Donald had a fainting spell.
- Determine why the orange cat chose to be with Donald and Ethel.
I loved this cute little story. It really got you thinking and kept you hooked throughout. It's a classic tale on witches and cats, but with a light hearted tone. My favorite part was the ending:
"The bad news is that our cat has just left us to become the Queen of the Witches. We’ll have to get another cat.”
“Oh no,” I said immediately. “I’ve had enough of cats.”
We got a dog."
Resources:
Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child. Belmont: CA.
"The Black Cat's Message." The Black Cat's Message: From Halloween Stories at Americanfolklore.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.
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