If I remember correctly, a girl becomes a cat in order to avoid going to boarding school...? I read a lot of books about girls turning into cats to escape their troubled lives. (Make of that what you will.) ( )

Ten-year-old Arabella Fitzgerald, a pampered young girl who lives with her mother in a mansion on the Hudson River, is dismayed to learn that her new stepfather intends to send her to boarding school. While pouring out her troubles to her beloved cat Miranda, Arabella is amazed to discover that Miranda can speak to her, and that she can escape her troubles by becoming a cat. But Arabella, now Bella the cat, soon discovers that life as a feline is not entirely problem-free...

While some of the scenes in Bella Arabella have a charm that will appeal to the cat-lover (the book comes recommended by Cleveland Amory), I found the resolution a little pat, and the tone almost preachy. This tale has also been told in Eric Christian Haugaard’s picture-book fairytale, Princess Horrid, which I prefer. ( )