SummaryL. Rifkin proves once and for all that every cat is born to live and die nine times in “The Nine Lives of Romeo Crumb”. In fact, the familiar myth is turned completely on its head in her remarkable nine book series.
The secret world of cats is revealed in this epic tale of feline civil war starting with, “The Nine Lives of Romeo Crumb - Life One”, where we meet young Romeo, a stray who finds himself battered between two very different worlds. It’s the domestic cats, the Sticks, vs. the street cats, the Alleys, as battle lines are drawn, warriors train for combat and a hero emerges to inspire a nation. Fraught with danger from page one, Romeo loses his family at the claws of Fidel and his gang of vicious Alleys. After being rescued from the Pound, Romeo finds a new home with “his person”, 9-year old Dennis Crumb. As long as Romeo stays inside with his adopted family he’s safe, however, when he ventures out he finds danger lurking around every corner. Fortunately, Queen Elizabeth, a wise cat who lives nearby, befriends Romeo. She takes him to the Factory, a burned-out building where other Sticks secretly learn how to defend themselves from the Alleys and the indifferent humans of the city. “Life One” ends with Romeo’s first death. But fear not, our hero-in-the-making lives again in “Life Two”. At the end of “Life Nine” Romeo Crumb will be gone forever.
Included in this 311-page book are many original black and white drawings by artist/illustrator Kurt Hartman, including ten full-page illustrations. Also, at the bottom of each page is a tiny black cat. If the reader flips the pages of the book from front to back, the cat runs through, thus creating a fun flipbook.
Upon entering the shadowy and clandestine world of felines, L. Rifkin made a remarkable discovery, that cats do have nine lives. As a teacher for almost ten years, Rifkin observed the countless books her students read, and it was their natural curiosity about the secret communication between animals that finally inspired her to write “The Nine Lives of Romeo Crumb”. Setting out to test how the dark tone of “Life One” would be accepted, she read it out loud to a class of fifth graders under the guise of an unknown author. When they chose to miss recess time and again in order to hear more, and told other friends about the cool book their teacher was reading to them, Rifkin knew it was time for “Romeo” to make his entrance into the world. Thus she created her remarkable nine book series, each book ending in one of Romeo’s deaths until all his nine lives were gone.
L. Rifkin currently teaches kindergarten in Los Angeles, California. She and her husband, artist/illustrator Kurt Hartman, share a home with their infant son Henry and four rambunctious cats.
Grades 6-8: In this contemporary fantasy, cats can receive mortal wounds and recover eight times before their lives end permanently. Young Romeo Crumb was born to New York City alley cats who let him be taken to the Pound to protect him from Fidel, the evil leader of the “alleys.” He becomes a “stick,” a domestic cat, unaware of his heritage. Queen Elizabeth, a neighbor cat, introduces him to the streets and takes him to the Factory, where he attends school, learning survival techniques, cat history, and how to read. Romeo and his friends become involved in conflict with the sinister Fidel and his “henchcats,” with adventures, intrigues, rescues, and attacks leading to a final confrontation during which he learns the truth about his parentage. The characters are fully drawn, and Romeo’s efforts to find his family and help his friends ring true and create a sympathetic protagonist. His world is brought to life through descriptions of the decaying Factory and a field trip into the subway system. Fast pacing and building suspense will draw readers into the story and leave them looking forward to the projected eight additional books in this series.
School Library Journal January 2005
