| Availability: |
Out of stock, but more on the way Pre-orders ship after the publication date. |
Ages 8 to 12
A stray, chess-playing cat coaches a girl out to win her first chess tournament in this clever debut.
Morphy, a witty stray cat with an aptitude for chess, steers clear of humans—except for Edgar, his elderly chess-playing friend. When Edgar is taken away in an ambulance, Morphy sets out to find him. Only by teaming up with Edgar’s headstrong granddaughter, who’s trying to gain her judgmental parents’ respect via chess mastery, and a young street-chess player, can Morphy help bring Edgar home, elude a catnapper, and create a new found family.
This story of friendship and resilience includes chess scenarios and brain-teasers, complete with diagrams and accessible explanations. Whether readers are new to the game, or longtime players, Morphy’s story is sure to win hearts.
About the Author
Ilona Bray and
Stephen Soong are a husband-and-wife team who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ilona Bray is a former immigration lawyer, and would rather play Scrabble than any other game—though she finds chess fascinating in its elusive brain-teasing. Stephen Soong, a self-described Chinese-American chess geek, taught himself the game. At Brown University, he was on a team of students that competed at the U.S. Amateur Team Championships, where he managed to beat a computer. At one point his U.S. Chess Federation rating placed him in the top 5% of all rated chess players nationwide. CAT TAKES QUEEN is their middle-grade debut.