Related to: The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode; The Alley ( )

How have I never checked to see what else Estes has written besides The Moffats and The Hundred Dresses?!  Though I find this story a little obvious and a little blah now, and can't whole-heartedly recommend it because of doubtful historical accuracy, I would have adored it as a little girl.  The bit where Miranda frees the Mother Queen Lion in exchange for drops of milk for all the 33 rescued kittens is priceless.  I am sure that neither the school nor city library owned this when I was a child... I don't know why, though.  If you like stories about brave cats, and can overlook minor flaws, I hope you can find a copy in your library.  It's quite short - my edition 80 pp. w/ pictures. ( )

One of my favorite picture books from childhood.

I love how fiction can really inform your later life experiences. When I finally first visited Rome, and saw the Colosseum, I was immeasurably thrilled to see 'Miranda's' descendants living happily amidst the ruins, wild, but fed and cared for by volunteers.

Maybe this book is also part of the reason I love cats... ( )

I've read and reread the author's The Witch Family and The Hundred Dresses since I was a girl, but I'd never run across Miranda the Great before. Miranda, a large golden cat who belongs to a Roman senator's family, smells smoke one day. What Senator Marcus has been warning has come to pass: barbarians are sacking and burning Rome. Claudia, his daughter, and her mother would have gladly taken Miranda and her daughter, Punka, with them, but the cats were frightened by Marcus' horse and hid.

Miranda leads her daughter and some abandoned kittens to safety. This fierce cat even stands up to a lion. It's a charming tale for cat lovers. ( )