Nice place they got here. Bed.  Bowl.  Blankie. Just like home! Or so I’ve been told. Gypsy on my left. Pumpkin, my right.  Together, we are all alone.

Visiting hours! Yawn.  I pretend not to care. Yet – I sneak a peek.

So begins this beguiling story of an abandoned
shelter cat and the boy who adopts him.
Coming to a bookstore near you in 2011!

Kool Kitty Links

	ASAP Animal Shelter Assistance Program A no-kill shelter in Santa Barbara County that provides a healthy, safe environment for adoptable cats.
	Kitten Rescue Los Angeles-based non-profit organization dedicated to saving abandoned cats and kittens.
	ASPCA Education Materials and resources for teachers, librarians, children and parents. Includes lesson plans and book lists.
	Mutts Comics Official Website Get the latest news about Mooch the cat (okay, and Earl the dog) and other Mutts Shtuff by Patrick McDonnell.
	LOLcats I Can Has Cheez Burger Laugh-out-loud kitty pix.
	Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) An organization of professionals who write, publish and/or broadcast about all things feline.
	Cats For Kids A website for young people, sponsored by Cats Protection, featuring feline facts, history, craft ideas, games, care tips and more.
	Cat Facts and Trivia An extensive list of everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-kitties, compiled by Glenda Moore.
	Free Kibble Kat 12-year-old Mimi Ausland, from Bend Oregon, started this site to help feed the hungry cats (and dogs!) at her local Humane Society. Her site has grown since its inception in April, 2008, 'feeding fine food to furry felines' in shelters across the country. Just one click of your mouse provides 10 pieces of kibble to a hungry kitty. Visit the site every day and play Meow Trivia to provide even more free kibble!

LEE’S FAVORITE CAT BOOKS

All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat
Written & Illustrated by Suzy Becker
Workman
Wise and witty! Delightful illustrations

Cat
by B. Kliban
Workman
A Classic.  Who can forget Wacka Wacka (not widely used) or Noko Marie, Don’t Mess with Me?

Catku
Written & Designed by Pat Welch
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Zen humor.  Aren’t all cats koans, anyway?

Earth Tigerlets
(As Explained by Professor Xargle)
Written by Jeanne Willis
Illustrated by Tony Ross
Dutton
This book still makes me laugh so hard I spit. Love those ‘shoe squishies’.

Friendship of Milly and Tug
Written by Dian Curtis Regan
Illustrated by Jennifer Danza
Holt
Heartwarming, humorous chapter book, written by one of my best friends.  Winner of the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion.)

Grandma’s Cat
Written by Helen Ketteman
Illustrated by Marsha Lynn Winborn
Houghton
The perfect book to introduce young children to the finicky temperament of cats.

Hannah and Jack
Written by Mary Nethery
Illustrated by Mary Morgan
Atheneum
Sweet and clever story about a young girl who, while on vacation, sends postcards home to the cat she misses.

How to Save Your Tail
*if you are a rat nabbed by cats who really like stories about magic spoons, wolves with snout-warts, big, hairy chimney trolls . . . and cookies, too.
Written by Mary Hanson
Illustrated by John Hendrix
Schwartz and Wade
Another book that is soooo hilarious I almost spit each time I read it!  Okay, so the cats are the villains in this instance, but you willingly forgive Hanson because her fractured fairy tales are So. Freaking. Hysterical.

I Am the Cat
Written by Alice Schertle
Illustrated by Mark Buehner
Lothrop
Best. Poetry. Ever. (About cats, that is!)
My fav is ‘Sophie, Who Taunted the Dogs.’
Buehner’s illustrations are part comedy, part magic.  Look for the hidden pictures-within-pictures on each page!

Kat Kong
Written & Illustrated by Dave Pilkey
Harcourt
Oh my. This book is soooo silly.  Full puns that make you snort and groan. Read this one aloud with lots of vim, vigor and waving of arms.  Fav scene: When Kat Kong falls off the Empire State Building:  ‘Meeeeeeeeeeeeeowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!’

Kitten’s First Full Moon
Written & Illustrated by Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow
What can I say? Exquisite art, a simple but lovely story.  It won the Caldecott Medal, too.

Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell
Harry Abrams, Inc.
He’s a genius.  YESH!

Picasso and Minou
Written by P.I. Maltbie
Illustrated by Pau Estrada
Charlesbridge
Who knew it was a cat that nudged Picasso out of his Blue period?  Fascinating story. Gorgeous illustrations.
Winner of the CWA Muse Medallion.

Pussywillow
Written by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Leonard Wisegard
A BIG Golden Book
This was my favorite book at the age of 3.  I still love it today.  MWB was brilliant in her simplicity.
And the art: Me-WOW!

Splat the Cat
Written & Illustrated by Rob Scotton
HarperCollins
I love Scotton’s cats with their fuzzy exuberance.

Tales of Grandpa Cat
Written by Lee Wardlaw
Illustrated by Ronald Searle
Dial Books for Young Readers
Okay, shameless self-promotion. But wouldn’t you shamelessly promote if Ronald Searle had illustrated YOUR book?

When Cats Dream
Written & Illustrated by Dav Pilkey
Orchard
So you think Pilkey is just all Kat Kong and Captain Underpants?  Think again.  This man can PAINT!

Whiskers and Rhymes
Written & Illustrated by Arnold Lobel
Greenwillow
Original nursery rhymes written by the talented man who also brought us the chapter books about Frog and Toad.  A classic.