Author | Antonia Barber |
---|---|
Illustrator | Nicola Bayley |
Language | English |
Genre | Children |
Publisher | Walker Books Ltd |
Publication date | 1991 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Pages | 40 |
ISBN | 0-7445-2353-2 |
The Mousehole Cat (1991) is a children's book written by Antonia Barber and illustrated by Nicola Bayley. Based on the legend of Cornish fisherman Tom Bawcock and the stargazy pie, [1] it tells the tale of his cat, 'Mouser' (or 'Mowzer'), whom accompanies him on a fishing expedition in particularly rough and stormy seas. The book has won several awards, including the 1998 British Book Award for Illustrated Children's Book of the Month. Three years after its publication, in 1994, the book was adapted into an animated film and live puppet show; The Mousehole Cat is being adapted as a stage musical.
In Cornwall, in the southwest of England, lies the coastal fishing village of Mousehole ( /ˈmaʊzəl/ ); the town and its harbour are protected from the ocean by a manmade seawall with a single entry point for boats, known as the "mousehole", thus earning the town its name. Tom Bawcock (only called 'Tom' in the book) and his loyal black-and-white female cat, Mowzer, have long enjoyed their tranquil lives of daily fishing, cooking their catch and relaxing in Mousehole. Tom would cook many different dishes each evening from the bounty of the sea; morgy broth (a fish stew), hake topped with golden mashed potatoes, kedgeree with smoked ling, and stargazy pie on Sundays. One year, however, a particularly violent winter season prevents the fishermen from venturing out to sea, causing the entire region to nearly starve. Tom and Mowzer decide to brave the stormy weather, setting-out to catch enough fish to save the town. When the storm intensifies during their trip, it is represented by a giant 'Storm-Cat'. Upon seeing this great feline spirit, Mowzer saves the day by "soothing" the tempest with her purring, which eventually becomes an operatic "song" in which she sings from the boat in a human voice. As the Storm-Cat is lulled to sleep, Tom is then able to haul-in his catch and return to harbour. When they arrive back at the village, the entire catch is cooked into various dishes, including half-a-hundred "star-gazy" pies, on which the villagers feast. [1]
The book is laid-out to encourage reading with a child; it is wide enough to fit across two laps. [1] The illustrations are "framed" within the pages, with a general background of a seascape and the illustration related to the page shown in a window. [1]
Besides winning the Illustrated Children's Book of the Year at the 1991 British Book Awards [2] and the British Design Production Award (Children's Books), the book was shortlisted for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize children's choice, the Children's Book Award, and was commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal.
In 1994, Grasshopper Productions and The Red Green & Blue Company created an animated version of the tale for Channel 4, narrated by Siân Phillips. [3] In 2011, the tale was adapted into a puppet show by PuppetCraft. [4] The book has been featured on Jackanory Junior for the BBC, read by Shobna Gulati; it was first broadcast on 22 June 2007. [5]
The 1994 animated version was followed by a 6-minute "making-of" featurette showcasing the production of both the book and the animated version. This featurette is included with the film's home media releases. At the end of the film, the town is shown lit up at nighttime, with real stargazy pies being fed to local cats.
The Adventures of Pinocchio, commonly shortened to Pinocchio, is an 1883 children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocchio, which he faces many perils and temptations, meets characters that teach him about life, and learns goodness before he achieves his heart's desire of becoming a real boy.
Newlyn is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the largest fishing port in England.
Stargazy pie is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (sardines), along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust. Although there are a few variations using other types of fish, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing to the stars.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he gets into, and is chased around, the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother, who puts him to bed after offering him chamomile tea. The tale was written for five-year-old Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess, Annie Carter Moore, in 1893. It was revised and privately printed by Potter in 1901 after several publishers' rejections, but was printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902. The book was a success, and multiple reprints were issued in the years immediately following its debut. It has been translated into 36 languages, and with 45 million copies sold it is one of the best-selling books in history.
Mousehole is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about 350 metres (380 yd) offshore from the harbour entrance.
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Antonia Barber was an English writer of books for children and adults. Barber resided in Kent and Mousehole, Cornwall. Her book The Mousehole Cat was adapted as an animated film and is being adapted as a stage musical. She graduated from University College London. The younger sister of fellow writer Pamela Oldfield, Barber was married to a structural engineer.
Tom Bawcock's Eve is an annual festival, held on 23 December, in Mousehole, Cornwall.
Tom Bawcock is a legendary character from the village of Mousehole, Cornwall, England. He appears to have been a local fisherman in the 16th century. According to the legend, one winter had been particularly stormy, meaning that none of the fishing boats had been able to leave the harbour. As Christmas approached, the villagers, who relied on fish as their primary source of food, were facing starvation.
Bucca is a male sea-spirit in Cornish folklore, a merman, that inhabited mines and coastal communities as a hobgoblin during storms. The mythological creature is a type of water spirit likely related to the Púca from Irish, the Pwca from Welsh folklore, and the female mari-morgans, a type of mermaid from Welsh and Breton mythology. Rev W. S. Lach-Szyrma, one 19th-century writer on Cornish antiquities, suggested the Bucca had originally been an ancient pagan deity of the sea such as Irish Nechtan or British Nodens, though his claims are mainly conjecture. Folklore however records votive food offerings made on the beach similar to those made to the subterranean Knockers and may represent some form of continuity with early or pre-Christian Brittonic belief practices.
Cornish mythology is the folk tradition and mythology of the Cornish people. It consists partly of folk traditions developed in Cornwall and partly of traditions developed by Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium, often shared with those of the Breton and Welsh peoples. Some of this contains remnants of the mythology of pre-Christian Britain.
Fishing in Cornwall, England, UK, has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy of the county. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became much more diverse and crustaceans such as crab and lobster are now significant. Much of the catch is exported to France due to the higher prices obtainable there. Though fishing has been significantly damaged by overfishing, the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry. As of 2007, stocks were improving. The Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee is one of 12 committees responsible for managing the corresponding Sea Fisheries District. The Isles of Scilly Sea Fisheries Committee is responsible for the Scilly district.
Cornish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Cornwall and the Cornish people. It has been heavily influenced by the geography of the county as well as its social history.
Penlee Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations for Mount's Bay in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The lifeboat station operated at various locations in Penzance from the early 19th century. It moved to Penlee Point near Mousehole in 1913, thus gaining its current name, but was moved to Newlyn in 1983 without any change of name. The station is remembered for the loss of the entire lifeboat crew on 19 December 1981.
Michelle Cartlidge is an English writer and illustrator.
Will Coleman is a film-maker, author, musician and educational consultant. Coleman is a former director and musician with Kneehigh Theatre and founder and director of Golden Tree Productions, an organisation that develops cultural projects that promote Cornwall and its history.
Nicola Mary Bayley is a Singaporean-born British children's book illustrator and author. She is most known for her illustrations of cats, including in the books The Tyger Voyage by Richard Adams, The Mousehole Cat by Antonia Barber, Katje, The Windmill Cat by Gretchen Woelfle and others.