A Cat Called Trim

Corinne Fenton

Craig Smith

Allen & Unwin, 2019

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760631840

On a dark night 220 years ago a little kitten. more adventurous than his brothers and sisters, fell from the deck of HMS Reliance into the deep, dark sea doomed to drown if it had not been for the quick thinking of a sailor, Matthew Flinders who threw a rope to the struggling creature and it was smart enough to clamber to safety.

And so began the story of Trim, the cat that became the constant companion of the man who was to be the first to circumnavigate this continent, prove it was an island and give it its modern name of Australia.  In some places, Trim is almost as well-known as Flinders himself, being immortalised in several books, including Flinders’ own biography Trim, Being the True Story of a Brave Seafaring Cat; Matthew Flinders’ Cat by Bryce Courtenay; news stories, and various monuments around the world, including Sydney.

In this stunning picture book, Fenton and Smith have drawn on a wide variety of sources to present the story of this famous cat to younger readers , offering not only a true tale but also a glimpse into the early exploration of this country, perhaps sparking an investigation of Flinders’ own story and its wider ramifications. Fenton’s factual retelling of Trim’s adventures combined with Smiths detailed, lifelike illustrations bring together a story that all our children should know in a way that puts a human face on history, bringing names and events to life in a unique way.

 

A must for both primary and secondary collections.