- Title: Mystery of the Green Cat
- Author: Phyllis A. Whitney (1903-2008). Yes, she lived to age 104! I briefly wrote about another of her books, Mystery of the Haunted Pool, way back in 2014. The official and robust website about Whitney is still up, and I urge you to go there to learn more.
- Illustrator: Leslie Goldstein. She illustrated a number of children's books in the 1950s and 1960s, but I can't find any biographical information about her. I absolutely love her cover illustration for this book!
- Publisher: Scholastic Book Services (TX 222)
- Cover price: 60 cents
- Year: 11th printing, May 1972 (first published in 1957)
- Pages: 188
- Format: Paperback
- First sentence: Without leaving his place by the wide living room window, Andy could hear angry sounds coming from across the hall.
- Last sentence: How good this crab tasted, Jill thought, and knew it was because happiness gave everything added flavor.
- Random passage from the middle #1: Jill took the book, looking first at the title. It was called New Century in San Francisco and had been published in 1903. As she began to read the paragraphs Andy had pointed out, her eyes fell upon the name "Furness."
- Long random passage from the middle #2: "Lotus sometimes helped her father in the store and she was waiting on a customer when the girls went in. She was a pretty girl, neatly dressed in a skirt and sweater, her black hair drawn back and held by a silver barrette. She had been born in San Francisco, Hana said, and had never been to China. As soon as the customer left, Lotus came to greet the girls, her accent plainly American. Hana explained about the finding of the green cat, and Lotus seemed fascinated by the story. When Jill took the strip of paper, carefully wrapped in tissue, from her pocket and gave it to her, Lotus examined it carefully. She not only went to a regular American school, she explained, but also attended Chinese classes and had learned the language and written characters of her father's country."
- Rating on Goodreads: 3.97 stars (out of 5)
- Goodreads review excerpt: Jackie wrote: "My 3rd grade teacher read this to our class, and I absolutely loved it then. This book, and a picture on the back cover of a little cat, inspired me to make a little ceramic cat in college that I still have."
- Rating on Amazon: 4.7 stars (out of 5)
- Amazon review: In 2017, Olivier Dunrea wrote: "Loved this book when I was 11 years old. Reread it 53 years later and still love it! Just an excellent mystery with believable characters — including the city of San Francisco."
- Comments from a recent Vintage Paperback Books post on Facebook: "Still have my copy!" ... "I can still remember a few passages verbatim! I almost always re-read books I liked multiple times. A tendency I retain to the present day!" ... "Love this book, read it in the summer of '72, home recuperating after a lengthy hospital stay. As an adult I found it online and bought it."
- Availability: As of this morning, there are about two dozen used copies on eBay, with prices, including shipping, starting around $14. There has not been a modern reprint of the book.
- Not really related but interesting Papergreat post: Mystery RPPC: Girl holding a cat
