The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs

For fans of Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan comes the swashbuckling story of a little cat’s high seas adventures, now available as a Yearling paperback.
 
Captain Natick does not want to take a kitten on board his ship as it sets sail, but his daughter convinces him that the scrawny yellow cat will bring him good luck. Onto the ship the kitten goes, and so begins the adventurous, cliff-hanging, lucky life of Jacob Tibbs, who must learn how to hunt rats, brave a mutiny, survive on a desert island, and, most importantly, navigate the tricky waters of shipboard life, no matter where the waves may take him.

“Original, surprisingly intense. . . . A beautiful piece of writing.” —Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s
 
“Rarely does a book come along that I finish and think, ‘This is going to be a classic.’” —Jo Knowles, author of See You at Harry’s
 
“Emotional resonance and chockablock seafaring adventures combined with coming-of-age themes take this over the top. . . . An outstanding choice.” —SLJ, starred review
 
“Busby has created a story that will enthrall fans of animal fantasy.” —Booklist, starred review
 
“In addition to giving Jacob an engaging narrative voice, Busby fills the novel with nautical lore and lingo, making Jacob’s journey one to savor.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“An absorbing historical coming-of-age adventure.” —Kirkus Reviews

CYLIN BUSBY is the author of several fiction and nonfiction books for young readers. Her memoir, The Year We Disappeared—co-written with her father, John Busby—was a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Cybils Award winner. While living on a farm in Tennessee, Cylin’s family kept more than twenty cats in the barn, whose job it was to keep the livestock feed free of vermin. The cat in this book is based on one of those cats—Graybeard—who was born a feeble, sickly runt and went on to become a great mouser. Cylin lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their son. Learn more about Cylin at cylinbusby.com.