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The Snow Kitten
An abandoned kitten seems destined to suffer loneliness and hunger, until some children lend a hand.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Nina Warner Hooke
38 books2 followersSee also: N. Warner Hooke
(née Malagoni, adopted stepfather's name Hooke, married name Thomas)
Playwright, biographer, children's writer, and author of six novels. Her trilogy of humorous novels about young people in the 1930s—Striplings (1933), Close of Play (1936), and Own Wilderness (1938)—were published under the name "N. Warner Hooke" and garnered comparisons to Wodehouse, later turned into a successful play. One early fan included Margaret Sanger, whose letter of praise and request for a sequel to Striplings is included in the opening to Close of Play.
Hooke's later books were written under "Nina Warner Hooke". Home Is Where You Make It (1952) is a memoir about two Londoners creating the home of their dreams from a row of derelict hovels, while Darkness I Leave You (1956) was described as "a rip-roaring melodrama set appropriately in Victorian England", and Deadly Record (1958) is a crime novel and was also adapted for the stage. In later years, she published several children's books—The Starveling (1958, aka White Christmas and The Snow Kitten), about "how a homeless kitten melts the sad cold heart of a spinster", Pepito (1978, aka Little Dog Lost), A Donkey Called Paloma (1981), and The Moon on the Water (1982). The Seal Summer (1964) appears to be a memoir about her interactions with a friendly wild seal during one summer holiday.
(née Malagoni, adopted stepfather's name Hooke, married name Thomas)
Playwright, biographer, children's writer, and author of six novels. Her trilogy of humorous novels about young people in the 1930s—Striplings (1933), Close of Play (1936), and Own Wilderness (1938)—were published under the name "N. Warner Hooke" and garnered comparisons to Wodehouse, later turned into a successful play. One early fan included Margaret Sanger, whose letter of praise and request for a sequel to Striplings is included in the opening to Close of Play.
Hooke's later books were written under "Nina Warner Hooke". Home Is Where You Make It (1952) is a memoir about two Londoners creating the home of their dreams from a row of derelict hovels, while Darkness I Leave You (1956) was described as "a rip-roaring melodrama set appropriately in Victorian England", and Deadly Record (1958) is a crime novel and was also adapted for the stage. In later years, she published several children's books—The Starveling (1958, aka White Christmas and The Snow Kitten), about "how a homeless kitten melts the sad cold heart of a spinster", Pepito (1978, aka Little Dog Lost), A Donkey Called Paloma (1981), and The Moon on the Water (1982). The Seal Summer (1964) appears to be a memoir about her interactions with a friendly wild seal during one summer holiday.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 10, 2023
Who wants the kitten which, abandoned by itinerant farm labourers, wanders around the English village? It seems no one does, but as Christmas approaches, temperatures drop and a blizzard covers everything in snow, the starveling creature gets thinner and weaker.
Beset by other animals, denied shelter by humans, it seems that every other living creature is against it and that it won’t see out the year.
But are the humans as cold-hearted as they appear to be? What will it take to melt those hearts? It may be only a matter of time, but time is running out.
Britain went through some severe winters between 1976 and 1979 and this 1978 novel, published slap-bang in the middle, may depict how the weather affected even southern England where, somewhere south of Bristol, this story is set. However, I see this story, copyrighted by Hooke in 1978, was first published under the title The Starveling in 1958, and later in the sixties as White Christmas, so she may have based this timeless tale on any of the earlier winters she’d experienced during a life spanning the 20th century.
I knew next to nothing about the author before reading this but a little online ferreting reveals that Hooke (1907–1994) was born Nina Malagoni; she adopted her stepfather’s name as a pseudonym, though her married name in fact was Thomas. From the 1930s through to the eighties she published plays, six novels and even a biography or two.
Most of her later work apparently consisted of children’s stories about animals: according to Brad Bigelow “her instincts seem to be those of a naturalist rather than a novelist,” and superficially that might seem true of The Snow Kitten, which includes much about rural life and landscapes and creatures such as predatory foxes, stoats stalking rats, greedy gulls venturing inland from the estuary during stormy weather, and so on. However, merely through reporting speech and actions – and seemingly without being judgemental – she tells us a lot about the human players in the kitten’s story.
Of the diddakoi who adopt and then leave the kitten behind we learn little, but we discover that villagers all have excuses for not taking in the kitten, from animals of their own to stated indifference, from sheer prejudice to private resentments at what the kitten represents. And even readers who don’t normally go dewy-eyed at tiny moggies will worry whether Nature “red in tooth and claw | With ravine” aided by brute inhumanity will condemn this innocent, defenceless catkin to a prenatural demise.
So who will take pity on the kitten? Will it be the Reece children, or the Trims who were owed money by the diddakoi? It surely won’t be the Fergusons who own the ruinous holiday cottage, or old Miss Coker who has a thing against cats ever since her family died in a fire while she went out looking for their pet?
I have to say I wasn’t sure I could manage the implied sentimentality of the title, abetted by the coloured cover illustration of the wide-eyed kitten from Gavin Rowe (whose accomplished line drawings in fact complement the text perfectly). But Hooke’s writing is simultaneously matter-of-fact and poetic, her style likely to appeal to both the sensitive child and the thoughtful adult.
And I must admit that the final denouement, beautifully told, brought a tear to my eye and a catch to my heart.
Beset by other animals, denied shelter by humans, it seems that every other living creature is against it and that it won’t see out the year.
But are the humans as cold-hearted as they appear to be? What will it take to melt those hearts? It may be only a matter of time, but time is running out.
Britain went through some severe winters between 1976 and 1979 and this 1978 novel, published slap-bang in the middle, may depict how the weather affected even southern England where, somewhere south of Bristol, this story is set. However, I see this story, copyrighted by Hooke in 1978, was first published under the title The Starveling in 1958, and later in the sixties as White Christmas, so she may have based this timeless tale on any of the earlier winters she’d experienced during a life spanning the 20th century.
I knew next to nothing about the author before reading this but a little online ferreting reveals that Hooke (1907–1994) was born Nina Malagoni; she adopted her stepfather’s name as a pseudonym, though her married name in fact was Thomas. From the 1930s through to the eighties she published plays, six novels and even a biography or two.
Most of her later work apparently consisted of children’s stories about animals: according to Brad Bigelow “her instincts seem to be those of a naturalist rather than a novelist,” and superficially that might seem true of The Snow Kitten, which includes much about rural life and landscapes and creatures such as predatory foxes, stoats stalking rats, greedy gulls venturing inland from the estuary during stormy weather, and so on. However, merely through reporting speech and actions – and seemingly without being judgemental – she tells us a lot about the human players in the kitten’s story.
Of the diddakoi who adopt and then leave the kitten behind we learn little, but we discover that villagers all have excuses for not taking in the kitten, from animals of their own to stated indifference, from sheer prejudice to private resentments at what the kitten represents. And even readers who don’t normally go dewy-eyed at tiny moggies will worry whether Nature “red in tooth and claw | With ravine” aided by brute inhumanity will condemn this innocent, defenceless catkin to a prenatural demise.
So who will take pity on the kitten? Will it be the Reece children, or the Trims who were owed money by the diddakoi? It surely won’t be the Fergusons who own the ruinous holiday cottage, or old Miss Coker who has a thing against cats ever since her family died in a fire while she went out looking for their pet?
I have to say I wasn’t sure I could manage the implied sentimentality of the title, abetted by the coloured cover illustration of the wide-eyed kitten from Gavin Rowe (whose accomplished line drawings in fact complement the text perfectly). But Hooke’s writing is simultaneously matter-of-fact and poetic, her style likely to appeal to both the sensitive child and the thoughtful adult.
And I must admit that the final denouement, beautifully told, brought a tear to my eye and a catch to my heart.
September 9, 2010
This is the story of a kitten who has been abandoned, with winter approaching and no one willing to take him in. It is absolutely heart-breaking. I cried when I first read this story. If you can't handle sad stories, this is not a book you should read. Eventually the kitten finds a home and there is a happy ending, but as a kitten-mother I'm not sure I'll ever manage to reread this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2022
Well-written story with adorable illustrations, but I wouldn't recommend it for small children as the cover blurb does. I don't find that reading sad stories to little kids to make them miserable is a good idea. There are enough troubles in life to make kids sad without adults choosing stories to add more unhappiness. Save this one for older readers who can better handle their emotions.
July 26, 2025
Nina Warner Hook's 'The Snow Kitten' is a delightful book, now sadly out of print, which tells the tale of a small stray kitten and the dangers it survives as it searches for food and shelter until it finally melts the heart of an embittered woman on Christmas Eve.
June 14, 2021
A lovely, but at times upsetting story of a kitten looking for a home. A must for all animal lovers.
December 23, 2025
Cute children’s book.
March 19, 2015
A really nice read.
No one wanted the abandoned snow kitten. So, bewildered and hungry, he wandered around the village hopelessly seeking food and shelter until it seemed as if his sad little life would end without ever having properly begun. But the children cared, and tried to work a miracle in time for Christmas.
No one wanted the abandoned snow kitten. So, bewildered and hungry, he wandered around the village hopelessly seeking food and shelter until it seemed as if his sad little life would end without ever having properly begun. But the children cared, and tried to work a miracle in time for Christmas.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews