I had this book in my son's childhood library, as he loves cats. As he grew older, he recognized in this story his own attempts to get stay cats to gain his trust. a sweet book about trust and the comforts of friendship. It could be good book for a child nervous about a performance to read, to help them to think of visualization strategies to cope with nerves. Beautiful, classical painting quality illustrations. ( )

Mozart was just five when he became a great pianist. This worries Jennifer because she is already nine and does not feel she is great yet. I liked this aspect of the book because I think it's important for kids to know that you can discover your dreams and passions at any age. When I was a kid sometimes I felt like I couldn't do something because I didn't start very young so I would have to start from scratch even when there were kids younger than me who had already mastered the art. Jennifer finds a stray cat who she tries to please with toys and treats but reacts to nothing. Jennifer just wants the cat to love her and be comfortable with her but nothing works. When she goes to practice on the piano she realizes that the cat loves when she plays, especially when she plays well. Her cat gives her the courage to play her heart out at the contest. I really love that the cat and she connect through music because animals are often like best friends especially to children. Animals can even be used for therapy and this is a perfect example of how much a pet can help improve a child's self-esteem! This was a great read and the illustrations were beautiful with earth tones and painting texture. ( )

This book is wonderful, and not just because Dr. Austin wrote it. It is because it spoke to me more than more, if not all, of the other books I have read in this class. My partner and I have four cats (although I would have 20 if I could) and they all have their own personalities, just like Amadeus (which is an adorable name for a cat). For instance, my youngest Merlin, loves when I play video games, far less sophisticated than Amadeus but still very adorable. All four love when my partner plays the viola (or any other of the many she plays), similar to Jennifer playing the piano. This book was very adorable for any cat or music lover and the illustrations were an amazing way to allow you to visualize everything happening, especially the picture of Jennifer trying to "capture" the cat. The way the illustrator illustrated Amadeus you could really see the struggle of the scene, but gladly everything worked out with love and attention that followed. Overall, an amazingly adorable book. ( )

The Cat Who Loved Mozart, combines the best of 2 worlds: owning a pet and music. Jennifer is nine and worries that she is to old to be a great pianist. Mozart is who she admires. On the way home one day she finds a stray cat and decides to name him Amadeus. She explains to her father that he followed her when in reality, he needed to be coaxed into coming home. She soon finds that Amadeus is not as responsive as she thought he should be. She tries playing with him, brushing him, etc but nothing seems to work. Her father reminds her that her sonata contest is coming up. While practicing, she notices Amadeus is taking an interest in her playing. As she played melodious tunes, Amadeus jumped up and became closer. For 2 months she practiced. Amadeus seemed to respond to the notes. When the notes were dis-concordant, his ears twitched whereas the correct notes made him want to come closer. We see Jennifer having stage fright the day of her contest. Her father reminds her to play for her cat... and she takes home the first place ribbon. It is a wonderful tale. People say that cats adopt you. IN this case, Jennifer won over her pet through the medium of music. And he in turned, helped her to practice. Being a pet owner I can relate as my dog, when he was very young, responded to instrumental music. He would cock his head to the side and appear to calm down. Also practicing the piano is not easy but in order to get the results you want - you need to practice. These are some things that young children (6 - 12) can definitely relate to. They are in Erickson's stage of Industry versus Inferiority. So it is important for them to produce artworks, writings,etc.that they can feel proud of. Through encouragement to take initiative, they can learn new skills, and gain confidence. Her father reinforced her piano playing and allowed her relationship with Amadeus to grow. He is exhibiting confidence in his daughter and her growing abilities. I think it is good for children to see a nurturing and caring dad. I liked the illustrations which are more realistic drawings that use shading and highlighting to draw attention to Jennifer. It is also really neat how adjectives are used to describe the cat ( gray and white with a very pink nose) as this is truly how the child would describe it - or a child's view. You can almost hear Jennifer speaking to you. At the end we don't see her jumping up and down after winning a prize, but reflecting on her music and her relationship with her pet while keeping an eye to the future sonatas. I thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

I am a huge cat person and all of this semester I couldn't wait to read Dr. Austin's book, The Cat Who Loved Mozart.
This is the sweet story about a young girl named Jennifer and the stray cat that she finds one day. Jennifer names the cat Amadeus after Wolgang Amadeus Mozart. At first Amadeus is not very keen of Jennifer, he clawed her hands when she tried to hold him, disliked the catnip she bought him, and hated to be brushed by Jennifer. But, one day when Jennifer went to practice Mozart's Sonata in C, Amadeus jumped up on the bench next to her and listened. When Jennifer played a note wrong, Amadeus' ears twitched, but when Jennifer played the notes correctly, Amadeus cuddled closer to her on the piano bench. When it came time for Jennifer to compete in a piano competition, she was nervous, her father told her to simply think of Amadeus with her on the bench to help her play. Jennifer won first place!
I really enjoyed this book! I could totally picture Amadeus and Jennifer, and I was also able to relate to the characters. I have a cat named Samson and at first when we brought him home, he was not very fond of me, but now we are great companions. ( )