Zea E-Books in American Studies
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Description
Winner of the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1931, this novel is the story of a struggling Japanese artist and his housekeeper who adopt a three-colored cat and how that affects their lives and fortunes. Commissioned to make a painting of the death of Buddha to be hung in the village temple, the artist imagines the various animals whose forms had been taken in the Buddha’s past lives and the generous deeds they had done, as the cat—auspiciously named “Good Fortune”—looks on with hopes to be included. Could a cat, from a species usually so proud and self-satisfied, ever come to receive the blessing of the Buddha?
Elizabeth Coatsworth (1893–1986) was the author of more than 40 books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for adults and children. This is her second published work of prose, and her most famous.
Illustrator Lynd Ward (1905–1985) was just beginning a long and distinguished artistic career that included six wordless novels and hundreds of illustrated books by others.
Publication Date
1930
Publisher
Macmillan
City
New York
Keywords
cats, Buddha, artists, reincarnation
Disciplines
American Studies | Buddhist Studies | Children's and Young Adult Literature | Japanese Studies | Modern Literature | Reading and Language
Recommended Citation
Coatsworth, Elizabrth and Ward, Lynd, "The Cat who went to Heaven" (1930). Zea E-Books in American Studies. 45.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeaamericanstudies/45
Included in
American Studies Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Reading and Language Commons
Comments
Copyright 1930 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Now in the public domain.