The Cat Who Played Post Office

by Lilian Jackson Braun  262 p.

  This is the sixth Cat Who book in the series. It takes place right after the main character, journalist and amateur detective, Jim Qwilleran, has inherited ridiculous amounts of money. There were more deaths than I expected. Also when I read a couple of these as a kid I did not remember them being so silly with names of things. It was alright.

All Creatures Great and Small

by James Herriot  442 p.

             I loved this book. It reads like fiction, but is nonfiction. It is the first couple years James Herriot, a Scottish veterinarian, spends in his first job which is in Yorkshire England in the late 30s.
         It had chapters that made me cry, the next made me laugh, and grossed me out. It confirmed I made the right decision in not becoming a vet, but he does have some great moments with animals. Read this book! I look forward to watching the series that was on PBS in the 70s.

The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin

240 pgs/2012


About the Book: Oona is worried about her cat Zook-he's not doing so well and Oona wants to figure out a way to break him out of the vet's office and bring him home. As Oona tries to take care of everything, she tells Fred that cats have nine lives, so they don't need to worry about Zook. Oona decides to make up the stories of Zook's previous lives. Oona always worries about her brother, Fred, who hasn't had the best appetite since their father died two years ago. And on top of that, Oona's mom has started to date The Villain...well, really Dylan-but Oona's sure he's a villain! Oona's determined to find out the truth about Zook's illness, and discover the truth about why her mom shouldn't be interested in The Villain and along the way she may just discover some truths about herself.

HermioneWeasley Says: Alright fellow readers. Do you ever find yourself in the mood for a charming middle grade novel? One that hits all the right notes when it comes to family and growing up? And that maybe evens has the feel of some of the classics you read as a tween yourself? Add The Five Lives of our Cat Zook into your secret pile when you're looking for that special book.

Oona was a narrator that I liked and she made me laugh a lot. Her observations are smart and funny which made me like her. I also liked how much she took care of brother and taught him to read. She has many different theories about things-a name theory, a whopper theory-and each time Oona revealed a new theory, I liked her even more. She felt like a mix of Claudia (From the Mixed Up Files...) and Anne (Anne of Green Gables). She has some crazy ideas, but that's part of what I liked about her. She was loyal to her friends and family, even if meant coming up with a crazy idea of how to help them. Sure her plans didn't always work, but she had to try!

This is a very sweet book about a cat, siblings, and parents. Oona isn't quite ready for her mom to move on and Oona herself won't stop wearing her Dad's Raiders sweatshirt. While the book is about Zook and Oona's stories about Zook, it's also about grief and learning to live after a loss. Oona's story isn't obvious-we're not hit over the head with lessons that she's learned. Instead, she comes to an understanding slowly and we go through the process with her, which adds to the books charm.

I would recommend this one to readers who like family stories and animal stories and anyone looking for a good old fashioned book. You'll be glad you got to know Oona and Zook!

The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

360 pgs/2010


About the Book: Aldywn is a typical ally cat-trying to find food and running away from the local animal bounty hunter. When Aldywn is running for his life, he ducks into a pet store to escape. But this isn't just any pet store-it's a pet store for familiars, animal companions to wizards. Aldywn doesn't know anything about the wizarding world or magic, so it's just his luck that a young wizard chooses him to be his familiar!

Aldwyn tries to fake his way in his new home and pretends to be a magical cat. When the familiars young wizards are kidnapped, Aldwyn and his new familiar friends must help them before it's too late-and Aldwyn has to decide if he should reveal the truth or not.

HermioneWeasley Says: I remember when this book first came out and it looked fun, but I'm not the biggest fan of animal fantasy, so I passed on it. I picked up it again for two reasons-1) it's nominated for our state book award and 2) a co-worker's third-grade son said it was the best book he ever read. So with those things pushing me to read The Familiars, I decided to give it a try.

The Familiars is very much The Warriors Series meets Harry Potter. (I was all excited to think of that "meets" line and than realized that Michael Buckley says the same thing on the back of the book-so much for being creative!:) It really is the best way to sell this book to tweens though and I think young fans of both series will enjoy The Familiars.

The Familiars has everything tweens will love-lots of adventure and excitement, humor, good guys versus bad guys, magic, danger, secrets and friendship. It's a non-stop adventure-filled ride and even though the book is long, it's easy to get caught up in the story and it ends up being a very fast paced read. Add in the fact that it's the start to a series, and I think this one will end up being very popular with tweens.

For adults, it's a bit predictable, but it's great for younger readers looking for excitement and adventure and a fun magical series. Since we put this out on our award shelf, it hasn't stayed long! Lots of fun for readers who enjoy magic and animals.

Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender, 173 pgs

What can you say? We love our pets to distraction, and in doing so make some questionable photographic decisions. I read this while my husband was trying to work on his genealogy, but I kept interrupting him. I'd chortle and stick the open book under his nose. "Look at this one!"

Since these are already on the Internet, I thought I'd share a few good ones. Oh, what we do to our fur children in the name of love!

Cate K, proud "parent" of Nerf and Samantha

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale

By Carmen Agra Deedy, Randall Wright, and illustrated by Barry Moser, 228 pages.

This is the story of Charles Dickens' favorite inn, and the cat and mice that live there. Skilley, a street-smart alley cat, has a plan to begin a life of comfort as the mouser of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn, home to the best cheese in London and as a result, a multitude of mice. Skilley makes his entrance and immediately puts on a good show by catching a mouse. What the humans don't know is that it is all show and Skilley lets the mouse go immediately informing him that he has no taste for mice, but he does have an unnatural affinity for cheese. A partnership is struck which leads to an unlikely friendship. A fun story for anyone who enjoys animal tales.

Pie by Sarah Weeks

183 pgs/2011

This book will make you crave pie! You can't read this book without wanting to eat a slice of pie while reading. The secret piecrust recipe was left with Aunt Polly's cat Lardo, and no one knows what to do now that there's no more pies! The book combines a light mystery, family drama, humor, and lots of pie into a charming read. My favorite part was the description of the Blueberry Pie Award for Best Pie of the Year and the mock Blueberry groups that would form. It's a very tounge in cheek nod to the Newbery and librarians and avid readers are sure to laugh!

Raj, the Bookstore Tiger

by Kathleen T. Pelley Illustrated by Paige Keiser 30 p.

I really liked this picture book and it is another one with a friendly tiger or at least a cat who thinks of himself as a tiger. Raj is owned by the manager of a bookstore. He thinks of himself as a brave tiger patrolling the bookstore and beloved by customers and the kids during story time. Then another bookstore worker brings his white fluffy cat Snowball. Snowball mocks Raj and tells him he's just a little cat not a real tiger. I also thought the illustrations were very cute.

Kel

Baron: The Cat Returns

by Aoi Hiiragi, 213 pages

Haru is having a bad day. But after she saves a cat from getting hit by a car, her life just gets plain weird. Her school is suddenly surrounded by fields of cattails. Boxes of canned mice are delivered to her house. And the air is heavy with catnip. And then there's the whole being engaged to the King of Cats' son....

With help from new friends Baron (a dapper cat doll come to life) and Muto (a cat as grumpy as he is plump) and others, Haru tries to convince the hilariously lazy and single-minded King of Cats to let her out of the last part of her "reward" before it's too late and she's trapped in the Kingdom of Cats forever.

This cute, funny all-ages manga was also made into an animated film (The Cat Returns) in 2002.

Too Many Cats

By Lori Haskins Houran and illustrated by Joe Mathieu; 32 pages

In this Level 1 Easy Reader story, cats, adjectives, and music are the main focus. The title page preps readers for what is to come when it shows a black cat mesmerized by musical notes in the air. One by one a cast of cats are introduced and drawn to notes emanating from a cello. Illustrator Joe Mathieu does a terrific job of injecting humor into the story by giving each cat a unique and comical expression that is sure to make young readers giggle. Of course, when the cats find the source of the music, the story ends with a humorous bang.

Although the main point of the story is to introduce young children to a variety of adjectives (black, rich, silly, chilly, mean, etc.), parents can use the story as a way to bring up the fact that cello cords were often referred to as "catguts" in past eras. Even though it is debated and unknown if "cat" guts were ever used to make the strings, parents can delicately explain that animal intestines (most often sheep intestines) were used to make cords for stringed instruments. Perhaps this is why the cats are so entranced by the music?

Teh itteh bitteh book of kittehs

by Professor Happycat and icanhascheezburger.com
unpaged

More fluffy kittehs in amusing poses. What else can I say?