I remember my mother reading aloud to us a chapter book (in the early 1960s) about a group of children called Ragamuffins (maybe just four children). They meet a talking cat named Pouffon (that is how she pronounced the name; I don’t know how it is spelled). Each time the cat speaks though, it loses one of it’s special whiskers, or it’s whiskers changes back to a normal color. It was very sad when the cat spoke for the last time, to help the children, since the cat only had one special whisker left. I think the book is probably a literary award winning book, since my mother made sure we read all of the Newberry and Caldecott Award winning books. I hope it is still in print. I think the book had a navy blue cover, (hardback), and maybe a line drawing at the start of each chapter. It may have been published much earlier than the 60s. It was probably a library book, and was pretty well-worn then.
Thank you so much for your help!
This is “The Ragman of Paris and his Ragamuffins” by Elizabeth Orton Jones.
“Mich and Tobias were two little boys picked up in a sack by a ragman and taken to his home. They had fun getting acquainted with Poufon the wise cat, and exploring Paris”
Wow!! Thank you so much!! That is awesome!! I really appreciate it!!
Ragman of Paris and his Ragamuffins, by Elizabeth Orton Jones. From an Etsy listing: “Tells the story of how a ragman finds a sack of rags one day with two little boys inside, Mich and Tobie, who are all alone in the world and how he takes them in. It describes their subsequent adventures around Paris, and their friends Madame Pouf, Mimi the giggling cart horse and Poufon the cat!”
Thank you so very much!! I am so grateful!! I hope now, that I can find a copy of it!!