Katje the Windmill Cat by Gretchen Woelfle (2001) is about a famous cat that saves a baby during the Saint Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421. Katje lives “with Nico the miller in a Dutch village by the sea.” Life is easy. Nico grinds wheat into flower and Katje catches mice. One day, Nico takes a wife and Katje’s life changes. When baby Anneke arrives, she and Katje bond immediately. They play in Anneke’s cradle. But mother Lena disapproves and shoos Katje away with words that foreshadow the drama that follows. Katje moves into the windmill but sometimes sneaks into the house to play with Anneke. Katje and the baby are playing when sea water breaks through the nearby dike and sweeps them both away.
Beautiful paintings by Nicola Bayley contribute to this well-crafted work of art. She includes blue and white Dutch tiles along the border of most pages.
My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here.
