惠灵顿传奇 – Whittington by Alan Armstrong

在一间挤满了“遗弃动物”的谷仓里，有退休的赛马，过度亢奋的公鸡，一群又矮又吵的母鸡，一只名叫大小姐的莫斯科鸭子，以及新来的神秘大猫惠灵顿，还有时常来造访的狗、老鼠和一对学习吃力的小姐弟。

大猫惠灵顿用分段式的方法，讲述一个令大家又惊叹又感动的冒险故事——他的祖先和一位少年狄克·惠灵顿互相支持，发迹致富的传奇经历。

The power of reading is beautifully captured in this 2006 Newbery Honor-winning book.

Bernie keeps a barn full of animals the rest of the world has no use for – two retired trotters, a rooster, some banty hens, and a Muscovy duck with clipped wings who calls herself The Lady. When the cat called Whittington shows up one day, it is to the Lady that he makes an appeal to secure a place in the barn. The Lady’s a little hesitant at first, but when the cat claims to be a master ratter, that clinches it.

Bernie’s orphaned grandkids, Abby and Ben, come to the barn every day to help feed the animals. Abby shares her worry that Ben can’t really read yet and that he refuses to go to Special Ed. Whittington and the Lady decide that Abby should give Ben reading lessons in the barn.

It is a balm for Ben when, having toughed out the daily lesson, Whittington comes to tell, in tantalizing installments, the story handed down to him from his nameless forebearer, Dick Whittington’s cat – the legend of the lad born into poverty in rural England during the Black Death, who runs away to London to seek his fortune.

This is an unforgettable tale about how learning to read saves one little boy. It is about the healing, transcendent power of storytelling and how, if you have loved ones surrounding you and good stories to tell, to listen to, and to read, you have just about everything of value in this world.