Jack-the-Cat’s dream
written by Sezgi Yalin
Publisher Nikos Chr. Pattihis, Fileleftheros, Nicosia, Cyprus 2012
Published in 2018 in English, in Turkish (Sarman Kedi Jack’ın Hayali) and in Greek (Το Όνειρο του Τζακ του Γάτου and in French by the Cyprus French Institute “Le Réve De Jack, Du Réve à la réalité”,Institut Français Chypre, 2019
Excerpts from the book, courtesy of Sezgi Yalin.
The fantastic adventures of a cat, who dreams of moving from the big city of Chicago in the United States of America, to the small occupied village of Bellapais in Cyprus.
We are hoping that these books will unite children and adults alike of the occupied and free areas of Cyprus through art and literature.
The books aim to teach children how some of the most coveted things in life can be achieved when we are bold and brave. We envision parents reading these books to their children and encouraging them to pursue and realize their dreams, just as Jack-the-Cat did.
“Cold cold cold. Snow snow snow,” Jack, the yellow cat, complained every time he looked through his window in his apartment in Chicago.
During winter days and nights, Jack watched the snowflakes dancing in the air, he ate his crunchy, but tasteless, biscuits, and he took cat naps under his thick, green blanket.
He asked his friends Oden, Shadow, Jing and Q to move with him to the sunny island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. He showed them some beautiful pictures of the island in a travel book on Cyprus.
Yes! Jack was going to move to Cyprus by himself! He decided not to wait anymore. He was going to live his dreams.
Every day, Jack had lunch with Kita and Bella, and then they took Jack to many different places in Cyprus. They showed him all the beaches where he could catch fresh fish. They took him to the mountains and taught him to catch grasshoppers.
For my cat naps, I lie in my hammock hung between the two olive trees in my sunny garden. He missed his friends in Chicago very much. He was going to go back only to visit his friends. And, he hoped his friends would come to visit him in Cyprus, too.
Jack-the-cat was now the happiest cat in the world.
Some rough sketches of Jack-the-Cat.
