James Herriot's Cat Stories

James Herriot's Cat Stories
read by
Christopher Timothy
book on cassette.

The plot:
Veterinarian James Herriot tells about some of the cats he encountered in his practice in rural England from the late 1930's to the 1960's. His world is warm and affectionate. His love of animals, and cats in particular, comes shining through. This is an audiobook to share with the whole family and I put it on my list of audiobooks to take along on a family car trip. (See my previous blog posting).

Timothy starred in the BBC television series "All Creatures Great and Small" based on James Herriot's books, so who better to perform this book on tape? He really nails the accents, the emotions, etc. of the people of the Yorkshire area who loved cats.

I listened to this as a book on cassette. I hope that it continues to be available to library patrons as a CD and electronic audiobook and I recommend this audiobook for all public libraries.

Dewey the Library Cat

Dewey the Library Cat
by
Vicki Myron
juvenile nonfiction
audiobook read by Laura Hamilton
4 hours, 16 minutes

http://www.deweyreadmorebooks.com/

Dewey Readmore Books became one of the world's most famous cats as word spread from Spencer, Iowa around the world about this Working Cat. Dewey was the mascot and publicity department for a small town library for many years (1988-2006). He was affectionate, cute, patient, and everything you would want in a library cat (except for being a finicky eater). Like "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and "All Creatures Great and Small" this book has earned its place in the category of heartwarming books that can be enjoyed by children, young adults, and adults.

Charles Dickens' Letter Opener

Creepy! A cat paw letter opener!
http://www.salon.com/books/libraries_and_librarians/?story=%2Fbooks%2Flaura_miller%2F2011%2F05%2F11%2Fnypl_centennial

Biscuit Wants to Play

Biscuit Wants to Play
My First I Can Read Book
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
ages 2-6
children's fiction

This book is recommended for beginning readers. The pictures are big and colorful. The words and sentences are short and simply printed. The plot is basic. In each Biscuit book the dog does realistic dog things. In this book he wants to play with kittens. The animals are animal-like - not anthropomorphic. The dogs say "woof" and the cats say "meow". For this reason you can safely recommend this book and the series to even the most conservative families.

The pictures are "greeting card"/Precious Moment-type cute and timeless.

AngelCat Sugar: Spring Picnic

AngelCat Sugar: Spring Picnic
created by Yuko Shimizu
by Ellie O'Ryan and Sachiho Hino

Scholastic Reader Level 2, 250-750 words, developing reader, new vocabulary and longer sentences, grade level 1-2, lexile level 410L

I was disappointed with the plot of the last AngelCat Sugar book I checked out, but since she is EXTREMELY cute, I thought I would try again. In this book, Sugar and friends want to fly kites and have a picnic. Everyone wants to do things his or her way. Sugar works out a compromise where everyone is happy. There is a little geometry and physics thrown in as they see what shape of kite flies the best. AngelCat Sugar has been redeemed in my mind by this book with a much better plot than the one about the snail ("AngelCat Sugar: A New Friend"). I still have not figured out if AngelCat is one word or two (Angel Cat).

Kitten Needs a Job

http://www.highlandco.org/content/kitten-needs-job-video-link

Cats and libraries - a natural fit.

Library Cats

http://www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.html

Libraries and cats. They go together like a horse and carriage!

Angel Cat Sugar A New Friend

Angel Cat Sugar A New Friend
by
Yuko Shimizu and Ellie O'Ryan
children's fiction
grades 1-2

I did not know until I saw this book at a Scholastic Book Fair that the creator of Hello Kitty had two other characters - Angel Cat Sugar (cat) and Rebecca Bonbon (bulldog).

In this book, Angel Cat Sugar has three fairy friends - Thyme, Basil, and Parsley! They find a homeless snail and attempt to help it get a new home! The snail is dubbed "Cinnamon" and is now their friend! Expect cutesy pictures and many exclamation points!
It is cute. It is fuzzy and warm. I am not so sure that it is biologically sound practice what Angel Cat Sugar does and I don't think a real snail would much appreciate these efforts, but as I said - it is cute.
Here is one line - "He needs a warm, dry house of his own". Since when do snails need warm, dry houses of their own? They live under cold, damp rocks in in moss as far as I recall. They need slime.
I don't recommend this particular Angel Cat Sugar book because of these problems, but I see the appeal of the character. Best wishes Cat Sugar Angel, Sugar Cat Angel, or whatever your name is.

Titanicat

Titanicat
by Marty Crisp and Robert Papp
juvenile fiction, ages 4-8

Jim is a cabin boy put in charge of the ship's lucky cat, named 4-0-1. The cat and her kittens keep him busy as the Titanic goes on a trial run before her maiden voyage. If I say more, it will spoil the plot.
This is an unusual take on the many fictionalized accounts of the famous Titanic disaster.
As an adult I knew what would happen to the Titanic, but the 6 year old that I read this to did not. I had to explain the story to her again after we read it.
There are lovely kitty and historical pictures throughout.

Playful Kitten

Playful Kitten
by
Rachel Baines
board book
ages 0-3

This book is slightly puffy and has some sparkly and fuzzy and shiny areas to attract a toddler's attention. There isn't much of a plot. Mostly it is cutesy pictures like one would find on greeting cards or in a baby book. That's about all there is to the book. I would recommend the illustrator as an illustrator, but not as an author.

Honey Helps

Happy Honey: Honey Helps
by
Laura Godwin and Jane Chapman
fiction
beginning reader - ages 4-6

This book has a simple story, large type, and minimal words. It is sort of like a "Dick and Jane" book". The pictures are cute and simple as well. Happy is a dog. Honey is a cat. They do typical cat and dog behaviors. (They are not acting like humans, but real animals). That's it. This book is good for beginner readers and I have found it on a number of recommended book lists for 4-6 year olds. There are probably a lot of real dogs and cats out there with the names "Happy" and "Honey", due in part to this book.

Tails Are Not for Pulling

Tails Are Not for Pulling
by
Elizabeth Verdick
board book
ages 1-5

This book addresses a universal concern: will the baby/toddler/small child be kind to the cat or torment it?
Every parent, whether they own a cat or dog or not, encounters some situation like this at one point. Teaching children how to act appropriately around animals is an important lesson. This book shows the right and wrong way for children to interact with cats (and dogs).
This book might be placed in the fiction or nonfiction classification. It teaches morality and manners.
These would be good to have at a preschool or church library.
Here are other titles in the Best Behavior series:
Diapers Are Not Forever
Pacifiers Are Not Forever
Germs Are Not for Sharing
Words Are Not for Hurting
Teeth Are Not for Biting
Please, May I Have a Pencil?

Kitten's First Full Moon

Kitten's First Full Moon
by
Kevin Henkes
children's fiction, ages 2-5.

Caldecott winner

This is a black and white book with a retro feel that makes it timeless, even though it was published in 2004. I think it won the Caldecott because it seems like the type of book that our grandmothers would have read to our parents or our parents would have read to us. After reading it I felt warm and cozy. It reminded me of the old Little Golden Book "Pussy Willow" by Margaret Wise Brown. Both feature sweet little kitties.
Another book it reminded me of was "Owl at Home" by Arnold Lobel . Now I am on a nostalgia trip like the Caldecott committee must have been!
Here is the plot - a naive kitten mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk. She tries again and again to reach the moon. This seems like it could be a Native American myth or another ancient story. It is remarkable that a modern author could write and illustrate such a simple, endearing story and get it published.

I definitely will have to read more Kevin Henkes books and share them with others.

Magic Tree House # 3: Mummies in the Morning

Magic Tree House # 3: Mummies in the Morning
by
Mary Pope Osborne
children's fiction, ages 7-10

In book three of this popular time travel/historical fiction series siblings Jack and Annie are transported into ancient Egypt where they must help the ghost of an Egyptian Queen move on to the afterlife by restoring her Book of the Dead to her mummy. The addition of the religious aspects and the supernatural ghost idea are different than the first two books in this series which featured dinosaurs and knights. A number of conservative parents have their children read this series (and other historical fiction series such as American Girls) and having a ghost be a character puts this book in the series in jeopardy of being banned for having occult/horror/differing religious beliefs.
I read this book with a 6 year old and a 7 year old. The 6 year old did not understand that the mummy had different religious beliefs than ones she was accustomed to and didn't understand about the Book of the Dead. An older child would probably get the idea. Maybe if she had more knowledge about Egypt this would have been better received.
I do look forward to other books in this series, but this particular reader/book interaction did not go well. Book 4 is on pirates, which are pretty popular right now, so hopefully it will work better with my audience.
P. S. Bonus points to the author for a clever title using alliteration. (Although now that I think of it there is just one mummy, not mummies).
P. P. S. This cover is different than the one I have in my hand. It must have been reissued with a different cover.

Clifford's Peekaboo

Clifford's Peekaboo
based on the character by
Norman Bridwell
board book ages 0-3

Here is a short book featuring everyone's favorite Big Red Dog - but when he was a Small Red Puppy.

This book offers an excuse to say "Peekaboo"! to the baby audience over and over again. Clifford the puppy is hiding - peekaboo! This book uses very short rhyming sentences and colorful, playful pictures. It would be a good one to use at the beginning of a baby and parent storytime.

These are other books in the series:
Clifford's Animal Sounds
Clifford's Bathtime
Clifford's Bedtime

Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog Lover's Soul

Chicken soup for the cat & dog lover's soul: celebrating pets as family with stories about cats, dogs, and other critters
by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marty Becker, Carol Kline
audiobook on CD

I am not sure how they decided whether cats or dogs got first billing on this marquee, but this is a heartwarming collection of stories about human's best friends in the animal kingdom. Warning to drivers: If listening to this audiobook while driving, proceed with caution. Tears may come to your eyes when you hear about the actions of selfless animals.

I don't see all the narrators listed on the cover. There are at least 2 male and 2 female narrators. I think at least one story is told by the DJ from Northern Exposure.

I rate this disc to be family friendly and recommend it for car trips.

100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards
by
N. D. Wilson
children's fantasy fiction
narrated by Russell Horton
an unabridged CD production

This audiobook was exceedingly dull for the first 4 out of 5 discs. The narrator described in great detail the wood grain, color, etc. of cupboards in an attic bedroom. I hated this in Tolkien and Steinbeck's works and it was boring in this book. Sure, the cupboards were magic and gateways to other worlds/dimensions, but MORE ACTION AND LESS DESCRIPTION, please. The plot itself is good - go to other worlds through cupboards, but this begs to be ABRIDGED!
Henry comes to visit his aunt, uncle, and cousins in Kansas and discovers these gateway cupboards that were created by his mathematician grandfather. He is not an adventurous type, though, and hesitates to try them out. Fortunately Henrietta, his cousin, has more gumption. There is an evil witch from Endor and some good stuff. This would probably even make for a good movie, once the tedious parts are removed.
As a bonus, the author throws in some good baseball scenes demonstrating the magic of baseball in the good ole' USA.
The ending leaves room for plenty of sequels. I'll wait for the movies, though.

Cats Are Not Peas

Cats Are Not Peas
by
Laura Gould
adult nonfiction

The author has a male calico. People tell her that male calicoes/tricolors are rare or don't even exist. This starts her on her way to researching why this is so. I could have told her that male calicoes exist because my grandparents had one. His name was Poi.
The author takes genetics, which can be intimidating, and explains them so the average layperson can understand. She adds in a number of anecdotes, legends, and more about the history of cats and the history of genetics. She also tells some good cat stories based on her own experiences.
Gregor Mendel is seen as the father of modern genetics, but his experiments with peas do not explain everything that geneticists of today understand. Find out what we currently understand about color dominance, sex linked traits, and sexual mutations such as chimeras.
I recommend this for people who have an interest in cats and/or genetics, but do not want to be bogged down with too much heavy science. Once upon a time I was a biology major, but I have forgotten most of it. This book was just right because it did take a scientific approach, but it was not written for scientists. If you have a grandchild, a nephew, a brother, a friend, etc. who is a biology major and you want to have something to discuss with him or her, read this book and you can carry on an interesting conversation.
Notes for librarians:
Unfortunately, two of the true tales she has to tell are about how university library policies are not friendly to people who are not faculty or staff. It can be challenging to get a hold of scholarly journals and old books if you are a writer researching genetics and the history of cats. She has a bad experience with librarians interpreting library policy toward alumni different ways. One librarian denies her service. Another hides the books from her! (I am so ashamed of these people who are giving a bad name to our profession). One won't let her check out a book that she has checked out before. (Pages 39-40 and 155 tell of these unfortunate encounters).
On page 86 she discusses that Charles Darwin's works are considered to be "popular literature for the masses". She laughs at this idea and states that Darwin is no Louis Lamour!

Buzby

Buzby (an I Can Read book)
by
Julia Hoban and John Himmelman
audiocassette and book
ages 4-7
Buzby the cat wants a job. He figures that the want ad asking for a Busboy really means they want him - Buzby. The book seems like a Laurel and Hardy or Three Stooges skit. Buzby means well, but misinterprets so many things! The book is goofy fun for young readers.

Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots
by Paul Galdone
book plus audiocassette (the narrator is not identified)
classic children's fairy tale
ages 3-6

This is an old, old story that has been told many times. One of the first times was by Charles Perrault in French in the 1600's. Perrault is responsible for the introduction of Mother Goose and many tales.
Paul Galdone's version is pretty good and true to the original. Puss is a clever cat who can talk and he makes his master rich by his machinations.
You can see the clever grin on this Puss and you know he will triumph in the end.
If the only exposure that children have had to Puss is in the Shrek movies, then this is a good version to use to introduce them to the original story.