by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 24, 2010

Mary Calhoun had already written three books about Henry the Siamese cat. She introduced him back in 1979 in Cross-Country Cat, and wrote a sequel five years later - Hot-Air Henry. Then there was also Henry the Sailor Cat (1988) and, eventually, Henry the Christmas Cat in 2004 - 25 years after the first book, and nearly 50 years after her first children's book in 1957. So she was covering very familiar ground when, in 1991, she revisited her charming character one more time for another fun adventure - this time, called "High-Wire Henry."

But this time Henry's biggest problem is the new dachshund puppy that seems to fascinate her owners. "When The Man brought a puppy in, Henry went out...and stayed out." But the realistic drawings, by Erick Ingraham, show the warmth in the family's faces. Calhoun's extra details make the story feel more believable and engross - for example, the fact that Henry climbs out to an apple tree and crocuhes down on a branch. "Huffing his fur against a drizzle of rain, he looked through the window."

And Ingraham's drawings pick up the important emotional cues in the story, and then give them a vivid illustration. There's a bright light glowing through the window of the family's house - from the bright kitchen inside, and the comfortable yellow of their walls and floors. He uses an entirely different colors scheme for the outside world where Henry sulks, drawing dozens and dozens of dark leaves, and the dark grey of the branch where Henry crouches. The story and the pictures work together to create a believable story about a family and their cat.

Up in the tree, Henry here's The Woman say "Poor cat, he can't get down." Proudly, Henry walks along the branch, on his hind legs, to show him that he can. "Henry, we know you're wonderful," The Woman says sweetly. The cat faces many faces the ordinary challenges of their life with a new puppy - like when the puppy tries to lick his face, or when The Man laughs at how skittish he is. But in the book's one magical twist, the cat decides to impress the family by becoming...a high-wire walking cat!

"That night Henry practiced on the back fence..."

The book's clearly taken an implausible twist, but it works because the rest of the book is so believable. Soon there's a realistic drawing of the family's backyard, filled with trees, a clothesline - and their pet cat Henry walking across it on his hind legs! It's a fun story, and a nice addition to the series, which helps you to see the cat's relationship to the family in more detail. By the end of the book, Henry's found a way to use his wire-walking abilities to help the puppy out of a jam. But more importantly, he's made himself a hero to the family...again.

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