Paul Galico Libri

Un classico senza tempo: pubblicato per la prima volta negli Stati Uniti nel 1964, Il grande Miao vuole essere un manuale per gatti di tutte le età, e soprattutto per gattini alle prime armi che si apprestano a "conquistare" una famiglia. Voce narrante è una micina molto furba, scaltra e intelligente, che elargisce consigli e rivela stratagemmi su come sottomettere e addestrare "i bipedi". Non manca proprio nulla: dalle puntuali ed esilaranti descrizioni dei comportamenti di uomini e donne, alle istruzioni su come gestire bambini e scapoli; dalle indicazioni su come impadronirsi di poltrona e letto, a quelle su come affrontare eventuali visite di sconosciuti o le festività natalizie. Con tono vivace e un'ironia accattivante, Paul Gallico offre uno sguardo divertente e originale sulle varie idiosincrasie di noi bipedi e ci accompagna nella mente dei nostri amici felini, dei quali sapremo riconoscere, con un sorriso incantato e arreso, tutte le tattiche e gli atteggiamenti qui raccontati.

Responsible for cleaning the homes of the rich, Mrs Harris is a humble charlady with a knack for putting things in order wherever she goes. When, much to her surprise, she wins a trip for two beyond the Iron Curtain, she has no idea of the adventure that lies ahead of her. Ever the loyal servant, however, Mrs Harris (accompanied by her loyal friend Mrs Butterfield) believes it only right that others benefit from her good fortune as well. With a mink coat in mind for Mrs Butterfield, she also hopes to use their 'oliday to reignite a lost romance between her lovelorn employer and a Russian woman he had loved years ago. Unfortunately, the discreet passing of documents is an activity which can land even the most well-intentioned charlady in hot water with the KGB...

This is the story of a young boy called Peter, who is knocked down by a car. To his considerable astonishment, when he recovers, he is not a young boy, but a cat! Fortunately, he meets Jennie, a cat who had been abandoned by her family when they moved away, who educates him in the wiles of the feline world.

The story follows seven-year-old Mary, whose world shatters when her beloved cat, Thomasina, is deemed too sick to survive by her stern father, the town vet. Heartbroken and silent towards her father, Mary faces her own life-threatening illness. Meanwhile, Thomasina is saved by Lori, the enigmatic Red Witch, and transformed into Talitha, a powerful being with ties to an Egyptian goddess, now returning for vengeance. Themes of love, loss, and transformation intertwine in this magical tale.

The Small Miracle: A little boy requests of the Pope that his sick donkey, Violetta, be healed through a visit to the crypt of St. Francis of Assisi.

A young girl called Mouche is about to throw herself into the Seine, when her attention is attracted by a voice. It turns out to be the voice of a glove puppet, called Carrot Top. She then meets Reynardo the fox, Gigi, Alifanfaron, Dr. Duclos, Madame Muscat and Monsieur Nicholas. The story is about her relationship with the seven puppets and their grim puppetmaster, Capitaine Coq, and what happens when she joins their travelling show. This is another of Paul Gallico's brilliant short novels. You find yourself thinking, as Mouche does, of the puppets as individuals, and completely forgetting that they are only puppets.

The story of a friendship that develops between a lonely crippled painter and a village girl, when together they minister to an injured snow goose during World War II.

Mrs Harris is a "daily" a London charwoman who sees so much of the lovely clothes of her London employer that the one thing she wants above all else is to own a Dior gown. What happens to her in Paris and what happened when she left its magic for her own London home is the story Mr. Gallico tells in this book