Title: Dewey, The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Author: Vicki Myron (and Bret Witter)
ISBN: 9780446407410
Binding: Hardcover
While opening the Spencer, Iowa public library on a frigid winter morning in the late 80s, Director Vicki Myron found a tiny frostbitten grey kitten huddled in the overnight book drop. Upon warming and washing the little animal, it was quickly discovered that he was actually a ginger tabby - and incredibly friendly to boot. He quickly became the mascot of first the library and eventually the whole town, gaining international recognition and drawing visitors from as far away as Japan during the almost 20 years of his reign as official Library Cat.Perhaps Dewey is a little too anthropomorphized (he can read her mind, follows verbal directions, etc) and I could have done without as much backstory of the angst in Myron's personal life (married young to an alcoholic, had to have a hysterectomy due to an ob/gyn who induced labor so he could leave early for a party, etc), but I can live with all that if it means I get other tasty little snippets like the explanation of the history behind the town's architecture and the tale of the war of wits as the librarians try to keep Dewey from finding and eating their rubber bands. On the whole, this is a touching story of a woman and her cat which hits all the standard "animal memoir" plot points.
And yes, I cried a little at the end.
