Reading the Meow: Reviews 1 and 2

Literary Potpourri is hosting #ReadingtheMeow2023 during which we will read and review books featuring cats. Click the linked blog title at the start of this paragraph to read the full plan. Today, I’m sharing two little reviews of two wonderful books given to me recently by a very dear friend who had to move a bit farther down the road, across the Ohio and into The Commonwealth–aka Kentucky. I miss Cheryl and Gordon so much!

This charming little book–too small for a “coffee table book” but of that variety, features snippets about cats from great writers like Emile Zola, Lewis Carrol and Chekhov among others. Most are not short stories per se, but bits pulled from other works.  Cleveland Amory, of The Cat Who Came For Christmas fame authored the, for once, helpful introduction. 

Chekov’s tale of the kitten who didn’t really want to be a mouser and Zola’s of a house cat who sees “freedom” on the roof tops were my favorites, but all the little stories are wonderful.

And, for once, I don’t have to scramble to find a book of “essays” for those bingo card reading challenges! I’ll count this as “essays.” lol

Cat Tales: Classic Stories From Favorite Writers

This little book predates even most children’s t.v. –although I supposed Howdie Doody was on in 1953. This is book made for innocent children in a more innocent time. No one was splashing warnings about not giving pets for Christmas back then. Even if they had been the unseen parents in this book were as innocent as the children. This kitten choose the family and slipped into the house when father put out the milk bottle before going to bed. That is a good indication of how old this book is! He wasn’t sorting the recycling–he was putting the completely reusable glass milk bottle out for the milk man to pick up in the early hours of the morning.

This is a sweet book–I loved the 3 color “illustrations” (the look like lithographs to me) and the simple black-and-white photos that help the child follow the story. Books like this are a treasure!

The Christmas Kitten by Janet Konkle

I love that my copy has “Jeanie” –1954 written in the front (quotation marks are original).