When Jason has “one of those days” where everything has gone wrong, he remarks to his cat Gareth that he wishes he had some of those nine lives that cats are famous for. Imagine his surprise when Gareth responds that cats do have nine lives, just not in the way that people often mistake. Cats do not have eight scrapes with death, but rather, they have the capacity to live in nine entirely separate lives. Cats are capable of living anywhere and in any nine times. Surprised that his cat is talking to him but too curious to make a big deal out of it, Jason gets Gareth to explain how it all works and then begs Gareth to take him along. 

In Lloyd Alexander’s first children’s novel, The Time Cat, Gareth can move in and out of nine different times, but once he has done that, he cannot ever go back. And so, according to Gareth, a cat most choose wisely when he will leap from life to life. This charming and imaginative story brings history to life. Gareth uses his first life to bring Jason to ancient Egypt and the city of Bubastes where cats are worshipped as gods. While there, they encounter some trouble, Jason learns a little something, and then they move along to the next life. As they move in and out of lives, Jason and Gareth meet all kinds of famous historical figures like St. Patrick while he was still a slave, Leonardo da Vinci as a boy, etc. And in each life, Jason learns something about himself or the world. 

Like Gary D. Schmidt, Lloyd Alexander “tells adult stories disguised as children’s tales.” Both writers tell rich stories that are compelling to children and adults alike but that are suitable to young readers and, in many ways, very good for them. In The Time Cat, Gareth the cat uses his nine lives to help Jason mature into the man he will someday become. The time travel is meant to show Jason a big world with real challenges in it. And, in so doing, help Jason to think bigger and better about his own world. Like The Iron Ring, this story is a bit of a coming-of-age story. And, like The Iron Ring, it is plain fun. 

This book could easily be used as a free read or even as a supplement to some historical study. It isn’t quite historical fiction, but it does let the reader live in a series of historical episodes that bring that moment of time to life for us today. The audio is well done.