Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings

Ursula K. LeGuin

Five years after the first two books in the series, LeGuin released the third, Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings. It's the best of the series so far, mostly because it actually feels like a self-contained story. Alexander is a wingless kitten from a normal kitten family who goes out exploring one day, gets lost, and is taken in by the catwings. He develops a friendship with Jane, and goes to work unraveling the trauma that has kept her from speaking for most of her life.

Now, remember when reading that synopsis that the Catwings books are short (forty-two pages, in this case). That's some pretty complex stuff for what is, essentially, a kids' picture book. It's certainly light-years removed from the simple, rather bucolic tales found in the first two. This is where LeGuin takes the series and turns it into something special; if you're fan, and you passed these over because they're for young readers, go back and give them a spin.