Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin [Paperback]

Newbery Award–winning author Marguerite Henry’s beloved novel about a boy who would do anything to paint is now available in a refreshed paperback edition.

Benjamin West was born with an extraordinary gift—the gift of creating paintings of people, animals, and landscapes so true to life they “took one’s breath away.” But Benjamin is part of a deeply religious Quaker family, and Quaker beliefs forbid the creation of images.

Because Benjamin’s family didn’t approve of his art, he had to make his own painting supplies. The local Native Americans taught him how to mix paints from earth, clay, and plants. And his cat, Grimalkin, sacrificed hair from his tail for Ben’s brushes.

This classic story from Newbery Award–winning author Marguerite Henry features the original text with gorgeous new cover art.Wesley Dennis was best known for his illustrations in collaboration with author Marguerite Henry. They published sixteen books together.Benjamin West and his Cat Grimalkin

Chapter 1

WELCOME TO DOOR-LATCH INN

Benjamin woke with a jerk. He held his breath, trying to separate the sounds that came floating up from the innyard. Usually he slept through noises. Travelers could lift the latch, help themselves to the snack of food set out for them, warm themselves by the fire, and leave without his so much as hearing them. But tonight there was a small sound that he could not make out.

In a moment everything went quiet. Papa’s hound dogs stopped yapping. The rumble of cart wheels died. It was like the stillness that often comes in the middle of a storm.

Benjamin raised himself up on one elbow. He wished he had ears like a horse so that he could swivel them around to calƒP