Vicki Myron with Bret Witter, Dewey’s Nine Lives: the Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions

Title: Dewey’s Nine Lives: the Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions

Author: Vicki Myron, with Bret Witter

Publication Information: New York, N.Y.: Dutton, published by Penguin Group (USA), 2010

ISBN: 978-0-525-95186-5

Library of Congress Classification: SF445.5

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Cats–Anecdotes
Human-animal relationships–Anecdotes
Dewey (Cat)–Anecdotes

This book is and is not a sequel to Dewey, Vicki Myron’s first book that chronicled the life of Dewey, the cat she found in her library’s book return. It is the stories of those who share their lives with cats, and how those cats affect their lives and the lives of others around them.

Dewey interacted with the visitors in the library on a regular basis: the homeless man who always visited Dewey daily, and Yvonne, a woman from out of town who was always quiet but who came to see Dewey. We then learn about the life of Yvonne and of Myron’s Snowball, a cat from her childhood whose back legs had been cut off in a plow accident, and how that cat learned to manage quite well without them. At six, Yvonne’s mother took pictures of her children with their favorite cats, except Yvonne couldn’t find her cat and the photo was taken without her holding the cat. Yvonne used to buy toys for Dewey and play with him when she visited the library. Yvonne also had Tobi, her cat, whom she loved.

There’s stories about Mr. Sir Bob Kittens; Spooky and his human, Bill, the Vietnam vet who once made friends with a raccoon; the cats of Sanibel Island, Florida; Christmas Cat; Cookie; Marshmallow; Church Cat; and Rusty. It would probably be more accurate to describe this book as biographies of humans and how the animals they had effected their lives. Myron talks about the life of her husband, Glenn, who was tied to a variety of different animals throughout his life.

This can be a tear-jerker for many, but it’s a good set of life stories about humans and their cats–and the ways that animals can change our lives.

 

Francesco Marciuliano, I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats; I Could Chew on This and Other Poems by Dogs

Title: I Could Chew on This: and Other Poems by Cats

Author: Francesco Marciuliano

Publication Information: San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4521-1058-5

Library of Congress Classification: PN6084 .C23

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Cats–Humor
Cats–Poetry

Title: I Could Chew on This: and Other Poems by Dogs

Author: Francesco Marciuliano

Publication Information: San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4521-1903-8

Library of Congress Classification: PN6231 .D68

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Dogs–Humor
Dogs–Poetry

I bought the cat book at Northshire Books when I was in Manchester, Vermont because it was 20% off the cover price. The dog and cat books are also carried by Whimsies.

Like most poetry, some are better than others. The ones that are funny are really funny. The full-color photos of the dogs and cats that accompany the poems are adorable, with many complementing the poems quite well. With dog titles like Unleashed (“I’m free! … I’m lost!), Splash (a dog that keeps chasing stones as you skip them across the water–and he cannot stop), and Time (a dog wondering where you are, and not to leave him again), I laughed quite a lot.

Some cat titles are Cold (everything at the vet’s is cold–except the puddle of urine on the vet’s notes), Why are You Screaming (a cat trying to figure out why you don’t like the present–a dead mouse on your bed), Something’s Wrong (a cat realizes that the walls are a different color, the place is laid out wrong … all since he got out of the carrier, and he intends to find out what happened), and  Nine Lives (what each one is for, including writing ones’s memoirs), were a lot of fun.

This is for cat and dog lovers, or for anyone who likes animals.