by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 29, 2010

"The cat was the lord of the temple." Andrew Clements tells a wonderful story about a cat living in ancient Egypt. The cat has worshipful servants who attend to his every need, even dancing for him, playing music, and tending a sacred fire lit in his honor. "No one could remember when the people in this land had started to worship cats, and the cat certainly did not know or care."

Unfortunately, one orange, brooding cat isn't happy being lord of the temple. If he shows interest in a fish in the reflecting pool, his solicitous servants rush over and insist on catching it for him! (They'll cook it with herbs and spices, and deliver it to the cat in a cat-sized golden bowl.) And when the cat tries to stretch out in the sunshine, a servant gently carries him back instead to a royal bed made from deep crimson pillows.

"It really was interesting to learn history through the eyes of an exalted feline," wrote on teacher on Amazon. And the book mixes its historical details with a genuinely intriguing story about the cat. One day the cat climbs the highest branches of its almond tree, and looks out beyond the temple walls towards the children playing in the streets. From his perch, he learns a new lesson - that "all the other cats in the world roamed free."

The book is illustrated with gorgeous oil paintings capturing all the sights a cat might see in ancient Egypt. There's the yellow of stone buildings, and grey shadowy columns that are covered with hieroglyphics. But illustrator Kate Kiesler also remains true to the cat's perspective. The Egyptian servants are all shown from behind, or as hands preparing the cat's dinner!

I worried if the book sent the wrong anthropological message, since the cat (if not the book's author) shows a little indifference to the values of another culture. Then again, it's also a story of rebellion against society - and there's no harm in that , since it happened thousands of years ago. One night, the cat slips out of its temple, and nestles down in the hay of a distance barn. "He slept as he had never slept before," writes Clements, following the cat on a three-day journey to the edge of the sea.

And finally the cat finds a lonely fisherman, who tosses the cat a left-over fish head. "For the first time in his life, the little cat had a real cat supper.

"And never had anything tasted so good."

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