Fortune teller Freydis Spits arrives in the village of Nordlor on the night Captain Britt's wife is due to give birth to their seventh child. Captain Britt has six daughters. He is desperate for a son. Fredyis listens to the sounds inside shells to tell fortunes and having extracted an appropriate and large payment from the Captain she declares:
"After the birth of six disappointing daughters, Captain Britt of the Plucky Leopard will finally become the proud father of a bold and brave son."
Later that night a baby is born but this baby is another girl. The baby is named Oona and over the coming years we read that she is utterly rejected not just by her father but also by her mother and her six sisters. Oona is left to her own devices. Luckily she is a resourceful girl. The women in her family cannot read but Oona hides in the rafters of the school house and listens in to the lessons given to the village boys. She has two books where she reads about legendary sea voyages and sea monsters. Oona longs to join her father on his ship. She is especially curious about one special creature - the nardoo. This amazing creature is purported to fly, to control the weather of the north and to orchestrate the spectacular Northern Lights.
"The nardoos were bigger than whales, brighter than the summer sun and kinder than the kindest man. They were gentle beasts that swam through the waters during the day and flew through the stars at night. It is said that when they cried, the nardoo's tears floated up into the sky and became clouds that came back as fain. It is said that wherever they flew they left tails of brilliant light behind."
Oona's mother decides her daughters need husbands so she packs everyone into a carriage and heads down south. Oona does not want to go south. She feels the pull of the north so late at night she stows away on her father's ship, The Plucky Leopard, observed only by an ancient cat called Barnacles.
We have all the story elements ready for a brilliant tale - a girl on a mission, an angry father, the gentle navigator, a fortune teller who makes dangerous mistakes and a very resentful cat desperate to preserve his last life.
I am a little confused about this book. Can I claim it as Australian? Matilda Woods is Australian but her publisher is in the UK (scholastic.co.uk) and her agent is also in UK. I guess all of this explains why I didn't know about this book (published in 2018) and also why it did not appear on our CBCA Notable list in 2019.
Things I enjoyed about The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator:
- The cover - it is perfect
- The illustrations are superbly done by Anuska Allepuz - I think her name should appear on the cover. The illustrations remind me the images in Varjak Paw.
- The wisdom, bravery and heroism of Oona - she is a mighty girl!
- The kindness of the navigator Haroyld
- The village buildings in Nordlor which are made from the timbers of shipwrecks
- The wild battle scene when the ship is attacked by a huge sea monster with eight tentacles
- The fairy tale elements especially through the story thread of the ugly sisters and their marriage to Prince Manfred of Turnip Town!
I highly recommend The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator for all readers aged 10+. I think this book would also be excellent as a family or class read aloud. Click here for more details about each character. Listen to an audio sample from the first chapter by Bolinda Audio.
I am very keen to read another book by Matilda Woods:
If you read The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator (yes you should read this book!) then you might also enjoy The Pearl in the Ice.
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