It was my first day shelf reading in the juvenile/YA wing of the Orono Public Library since before the stroke back in 2023. You betcha the librarians were happy to have me back. When I saw Sophie Blackall's Negative Cat I knew it had to come home with me.
It's about a boy who wants a cat so much that he agrees not only to feed it and keep its litter box clean, but to keep his room tidy, write to his grandmother, and read twenty minutes a day to get his parents to let him have one.
Things don't start off well. Max is not excited with his food, scratching post, and litter box. He doesn't respond to play initiatives. He doesn't even purr. What he does do is hack up hairballs, 💩 outside the litter box, and chomp on the flowers.
The rest of the family gives up on Max. They call a man from the shelter to come get him. But our hero still loves his little friend...
...and cat lovers from 2 to 132 will love the happy ending.
On a purrrsonal note, back in the day when they were shorter than me the kids asked me if they could PLEASE have a dog. Now I may love and get along with other people's canine companions. But waiting outside in the middle of a Maine blizzard for a dog to do its business--so not gonna happen. So I said they could if they agreed to feed it and walk it and scoop all the 💩 it produced. They decided cats were just fine.
A great big shout out goes out to my wonderful kids and our wonderful cats, both past and present.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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