Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey

by Doug Kuntz, Amy Shrodes, Sue Cornelison (Illustrator)

Overview

This heartwarming true story of one lost cat's journey to be reunited with his refugee family gently introduces children to a difficult topic and shows how ordinary people can help with compassion and hope.
 
When an Iraqi family is forced to flee their home, they can’t bear to leave their beloved cat, Kunkush, behind. So they carry him with them from Iraq to Greece, keeping their secret passenger hidden away.
 
But during the crowded boat crossing to Greece, his carrier breaks and the frightened cat runs from the chaos, disappearing. After an unsuccessful search, his family has to continue their journey, leaving brokenhearted.
 
A few days later, aid workers in Greece find the lost cat. Knowing how much his family has sacrificed already, they are desperate to reunite them. A worldwide community comes together to spread the word on the Internet and in the news media, and after several months the impossible happens—Kunkush’s family is found, and they finally get their happy ending in their new home.
 
This remarkable true story is told by the real people involved, with the full cooperation of Kunkush’s family.

“Bound to be a hit with cats and kids alike.” —People.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524715502
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	12/10/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	172,703
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Amy Shrodes and Doug Kuntz felt compelled to travel to Greece to help with the refugee crisis, each in their own unique way—Amy as a volunteer helping the arriving refugees and raising awareness back at home through a podcast, and Doug as a photojournalist, who spent five months in Greece, Turkey, France, Germany, and finally Norway, bringing the plight of the refugees to people around the globe. When they met Kunkush, they knew he was very special to someone and they wanted to do everything they could to reunite him with his family.
 
Sue Cornelison graduated with a BFA from Drake University and continued her studies at the International School of Studio Arts in Florence, Italy. Sue has worked as a full-time illustrator for over a decade. She wrote and illustrated The Twelve Days of Christmas in Iowa, as well as illustrated Sofia’s Dream, Down by the Bay, You’re Wearing That to School?!, and the American Girl Bitty Baby series. Sue works in her backyard treetop studio in a renovated 1909 carriage house in rural Iowa.

Editorial Reviews

Bound to be a hit with cats and kids alike, this picture book tells the harrowing story of a cat who was separated from his family when they fled from Iraq and the amazing way he found his way home again.” —People.com

“A meaningful message of love and loss, of empathy and outreach, and ultimately, at its core, of compassion, grace and kindness.” —The Sag Harbor Express

From the Publisher

04/01/2017
K-Gr 3—An uplifting tale of love, compassion, and new beginnings. Written by two of the volunteers who reunited Kunkush the cat with his family, and with the full cooperation of the family, this account will pull at readers' heartstrings. During a summer night in 2015, not long after the death of her husband, Sura arranged for herself, her five children, and one hidden treasure to be smuggled out of Mosul, Iraq. This treasure was their beloved cat Kunkush, and Sura knew that they couldn't leave him behind—even if that meant keeping him hidden in a small carrier from three smugglers during car and bus rides and hours of hiking through mountains and forests. Unfortunately Kunkush's carrier broke, and after landing in Greece he escaped, devastating the family. Although it took four months, volunteers, the Internet, and a journey spanning thousands of miles, Kunkush and his family were eventually reunited. Cornelison superbly heightens the emotional impact of the story: weathered faces aboard the rubber boat, a doe-eyed Kunkush fending for himself. An author's note, a world map of Kunkush's journey, and photographs of Kunkush being reunited with his family are included. However, oddly, the family's last name is not mentioned, and the text is occasionally clunky. VERDICT A poignant title for large collections looking for refugee stories.—Joy Poynor, formerly at Rogers Public Library, AR

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