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    Whittington
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    Whittington
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    Whittington
    Audiobook4 hours

    Whittington

    Written by Alan Armstrong

    Narrated by Joel Rooks

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The power of reading is beautifully captured in this 2006 Newbery Honor-winning book.
    Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for-two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady. When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady's a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it.
    Bernie' s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can't really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn. It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington's cat-the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune. This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 22, 2006
    ISBN9780739337028
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Whittington

    3.5/5

    128 ratings16 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      I really liked the story about Dick Whittington and his cat, but thought that there were parts in the story that unnecessary and moved kind of slow.
    • 2/5
      This is one of those Newbery Honor books that just makes me say, "Why?"There are three stories in this book. One is the story of a stray cat, Whittington, who joins a bunch of barnyard animals in a barn. The second is the story of two children, grandchildren of the owner of the barn and the animals. The children go to the barn regularly and talk to the animals. (The children can understand the animals talking and vice versa.) The boy struggles with dyslexia and is fighting to pass his grade. The third story is a tale that Whittington tells to the other animals and the children - the story of Dick Whittington, a boy who lived in medieval England, and had a cat, who was Whittington's great-great ever so great grandmother.The Dick Whittington tale the cat tells is OK, though nothing spectacular. The dyslexic boy story and the talking barnyard animals stories are just rather dull. And worst of all, the three stories have virtually nothing to do with each other. There is a little smidge of Dick inspiring the boy to learn to read, but it's a stretch to be sure.
    • 4/5
      There are two parallel stories here: one is about a stray cat who finds a new home in the barn of a kindly farmer, and how the cat and the other animals help the farmer's grandson learn how to read. The other is a story-within-a-story, told by the cat about his ancestor, who was the pet of Dick Whittington, the famous London trader.Both tales are well told and complement each other nicely, and all the characters are the root-for-from-the-start sort. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun tale filled with adventure about a merchant boy from medieval times named Dick Wittington and his famous cat--a ratter of high repute--and their voyages together from London to North Africa to the Near East, told by the cat's descendant. It's also the tale of some current-day barnyard friends and how they give courage to a young boy named Ben for how to overcome challenges with learning how to read. Fifth graders might read this and make their own decisions about the choices Dick Wittington is faced with. Might they choose the same path as he did? or would they be less adventurous and more cautious? An enjoyable book for sure, and one that brings some history alive too.
    • 2/5
      The first several chapters of this book were quite good. I loved the details of Whittington's arrival at the barn and the manner in which he proved himself to the other animals, but the book seemed to lose some of that charm as it went along. The switch between the parallel stories was often clumsy (for example, the transitions between chapters included a lot about eating and horses stretching their legs, which just felt tacked on to me) and just tedious.

      It didn't help that neither of the stories was particularly compelling in the long run. The Dick Whittington thread in particular just kind of petered out. I also found it annoying that the beginning of the book suggested that his success would have something to do with the plague, but in the end, any connection to the plague was tangential at best.

      It may have helped if I'd been able to buy that a cat---even a very exceptional cat like Whittington---would know quite that much about human culture and English history. My kids both liked the book okay, but they were happy to get back to the Chronicles of Prydain again when we'd finished Whittington (and so was I).
    • 5/5
      This has everything a book could want: animals, adventure, the importance of reading. Its only flaw is that the dogs are minor and mute.
    • 4/5
      A battle-scarred tomcat named Whittington moves into a barn full of rescued farm animals. The barn belongs to an old filling-station owner and his wife, who are raising their two grandchildren; the children's mother is dead and their father absent and uninvolved. Moreover, the boy is dyslexic and angry about it and almost everything else. The cat, meanwhile, claims to be a descendant of the famous Dick Whittington's cat, and he begins to tell Whittington's story to the assembled animals and the children.

      So, a barn full of talking animals,children with modern problems, and a legendary story from medieval England. Who would think such disparate elements could be combined into such a good book?

      Armstrong doesn't sugarcoat the animals just because he makes them capable of speech. Cats get in fights, killing rats and even other cats; predators attack the farm animals; a neighboring cat in heat attracts Whittington's attentions. In short, the animals behave like animals. The human characters, as well, are realistically drawn and not too good to be true. Through much research, detailed in a note at the end, Armstrong has fleshed out the story of Dick Whittington into a tale that held my interest, as well as that of the book's characters.

      I think any middle-grade reader would like this book, and it would be useful in sensitizing children to the problems of dyslexia without being overly didactic.
    • 4/5
      Whittington isn't a long or complicated book, it's a quick read and it is very simple. The plot is split between Whittington the cat living in his barn and Whittington the person, who is the man the cat is named after. The cat and the person are intertwined and the cat tells the story of how the human grew up many, many years ago and how he found and befriended a cat, who is a many-great relative of the Whittington of today. The human has adventures, the cat lives the life of a cat, settled happily in a barn, sharing time and space with fellow animals and two young children.There is some adventure in the story from the past and there is a lesson to be learned in the story from the barn, as Whittington and his animal friends help a dyslexic child learn to cope with his difficulties and settle into reading. Neither story is really spellbinding, but they are written in the lazy sort of way that a cat would think or behave, at least that was the feeling I got as I read through the book, which makes it somewhat unique. I honestly came away feeling as if I'd spent a day in the barn with the animals, listening to a good story on a lazy afternoon.
    • 3/5
      A descendant of Dick Whittington's cat shows up at Bernie's barn of misfit animals. Each one has a story. The cat tells the story of Dick Whittington's adventures. The other story being told is that of Bernie's grandson and his struggles learning to read. A sweet story, but surprisingly dull.
    • 3/5
      Ever heard the story of Dick Whittington and his cat? I hadn't, and I don't recommend this book to find out about it! Okay, maybe if you read it to yourself, but it was terrible to read aloud. I do a lot of reading aloud to my kiddos, and I saw the Newbery Honor medal on the front and thought "ooo, a story of a kitty-cat" and assumed it would be good quality. The book attempts to tell the historical story of Dick Whittington at the same time as a more modern day story on a farm and the result was convoluted and very choppy. Chapters would end mid-thought seemingly, the characters were poorly developed, the two stories were not balanced--keeping up with both of them was a pain. Nowhere near E.B. White's talent. It was well documented, however. I would suggest reading it silently with the realization that it is more about history than the barn animals. We were glad when it was done.
    • 4/5
      Good book for struggling readers and those who likes animals. It's a story within a story. Animals can talk to humans. Main boy character, Ben has trouble reading, cat in barn tells story about Whittington and his cat, the man he named himself after, to support Ben in his reading efforts.
    • 3/5
      This is a fun story. I enjoyed the story that the cat told as well as the intertwined story of the children and their grandparents. The author makes it a page turner by switching between the two.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book about a stray cat, a menagerie of barnyard animals, two orphan children and a boy with resourcefulness and determination. The barnyard is ruled by a duck with a will of iron. Whittington the cat tells his tale about his ancestor to encourage Ben to learn to read. Ben is dyslexic and with the help of his sister and the animals in the barn he is able to read.
    • 5/5
      This is a Newberry award winner book about a legendary storytelling cat who explains to some unfortunate castaway farm animals how he came to be called Whittington. The other characters are animals who were rescued and two children who are trying to help Ben who has dyslexia to read. There are two stories that intertwine that explain the past of Whittington, the cat and his present adventures. This is a very interesting and easy way to get students to learn of Whittington who was a real person. It mixes the legend of a cat that helped a young boy to overcome odds despite some very hard situations.Students can explore where Whittington traveled, spices that were important, merchants, pirates, The Black Plague as extensions.I really enjoyed reading this book. The settings are masterfully written. The imagery is clear throughout the chapter book. Humor balances the drama. The use of foreshadowing plays an important part of understanding why some events take place. This book is a very fun and easy read!
    • 4/5
      Whittington the cat has been through a lot and he has stories to tell. After joining the other animals on Bernie's farm, he tells them the story of the person he was named after. Dick Whittington was a poor, half-starved child when he set off for London. By the time he died, he was lord mayor of London and rich beyond his wildest dreams. He owed all his success to his cat. Whittington's story is interspersed with the modern-day story of young Ben, Bernie's grandson who is dyslexic and having trouble learning to read. The barn animals and Ben's sister rally to help him. Beautiful writing really help set the tone in this book. Alan Armstrong's description of life in the barn really brings you in to the story. It's not action-packed. It's a more relaxed book and I don't think it will appeal to everyone, but to those kids looking for a quiet read that will take them away, I recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      More than the retelling of of a classic fable, this story interweaves the original story with modern family issues and unforgettable characters in the barnyard.