Tag: animals

Bonny’s Boy

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Rechnitzer, F.E. Bonny’s Boy. Muriwai Books, 2007.

Reason read: April is national dog month.

Even though this is a book for children Rechnitzer addresses some adult themes. Davy Edwards and his parents are patiently waiting for Davy’s brother, Nat, to return from war. Nat is in the Navy and while he is away Davy was assigned to watch over Bonny, Nat’s sweet and very pregnant cocker spaniel. After Bonny dies while giving birth the family agonizes over how to care for the near-dead pup (who dad wanted to drown). It is up to Davy to save the pup he names “Bonny’s Boy.”
Besides war and death, Davy’s family confronts competitiveness, jealousy and even violence when Davy wants to enter Bonny’s Boy into dog show competitions. If he wins he could take Bonny’s Boy to the big leagues – all the way to Madison Square Garden! The only problem was he was going up against a wealthy and experienced neighbor who historically always won these events. This neighbor would stop at nothing to continue to do so, even resort to animals cruelty if he had to. I found myself getting anxious when Davy got the idea to show Bonny’s Boy in the first competition; a real David and Goliath situation.
When Nat finally comes home from the Navy readers get a taste of the dangers of warfare, but the real lesson is about doing the right thing no matter what. Throughout the entire story Davy exhibits honesty, friendship, integrity, and courage.

Author fact: F.E. Rechnitzer’s full name was Ferdinand Edsted Rechnitzer. He passed away in 1965.

Book trivia: Bonny’s Boy was illustrated by Marguerite Krimse.

As an aside, I was really excited when Davy’s mother announced that she was serving apple pie with cheese for dessert. That is my favorite.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Great Dogs in Fiction” (p 104). As an aside, neither the author nor the title were in the index. Technically, I could have skipped this book.

Especially Dogs

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Taber, Gladys. Especially Dogs…Especially at Stillmeadow. J.B. Lippincott, 1968.

Reason read: I call books that make you happy “ice cream” books. In the month of July, ice cream is one of the most sought after cool treats. Additionally, I needed a book for the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge for the category of a book that makes you happy. Even though I am a cat person, this made me smile.

Dogs, dogs, dogs. All things dogs. In the beginning of Especially Dogs, Taber writes a memoir of the dogs in her life, beginning with her first dog, Timmie, the Irish Setter. [As an aside, I cannot imagine putting a dog on a train! Her parents thought it would be a good idea for Timmie to visit Gladys when she got married, so Timmie made the trip from Wisconsin to Virginia in a crate.] To name a couple more special dogs in Taber’s life, the reader will meet Honey, the Cocker Spaniel, and Holly, the Irish Setter. You might think she is obsessed when you read that, at one point, Taber had thirty-five Cocker Spaniels, three Irish Setters, and three cats, all at the same time. This was the creation of Stillmeadow Kennel with her friend and former roommate, Jill.
Moving further into Especially Dogs, the reader will get a primer on how to housebreak a dog, how to feed a dog (I had no idea oatmeal could deteriorate a dog’s coat), how to introduce new or strange dogs to one another, how to make a dog heel when walking down a busy or distracting street, and even how to put your special pooch in competitions… the list goes on.
There is no doubt Taber loved her dogs. The love and humor in her writing makes that abundantly clear. This was a joy to read.

Quotes to quote, “Her approach to anything was always that there must be a book about it and she read them all” (p 89) and “We never bought a horse because I couldn’t figure out how to get it into the house” (p 177).

Author fact: Taber has written a plethora of books on various topics. I am only reading three for the Challenge. I already finished Stillmeadow Road and will have — after Especially Dogs. Taber is a self-professed addict of professional football.

Book trivia: really cute blank and white photographs of puppies and adult dogs are sprinkled throughout Especially Dogs…Especially at Stillmeadow.

Music: Tijuana Brass.

Nancy said: Pearl shared an interesting tidbit about Taber’s origin story.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Cozies” (p 57). See what I mean?

Chasing Kangaroos

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Flannery, Tim. Chasing Kangaroos: a continent, a scientist, and a search for the world’s most extraordinary creature. Grove Press, 2004.

Reason read: I have no idea why.

Why do kangaroos hop? It sounds like the start to a marsupial joke. Tim Flannery wants to tell you the punch line. Chasing Kangaroos is a fun exploration into the evolution of kangaroos all the way up to the extinction of Australia’s megaflora. Flannery will explain the journey of kangaroos across the planet as Europeans brought them to places like London and Hawaii. Royalty wanted them as exotic pets to roam their palace grounds. Flannery’s style of explanation makes every kangaroo-related subject matter interesting and entertaining. I found myself pondering facts like the footbones of animals, kangaroo chromosomes, why some kangaroos do not hop, why some kangaroos live in trees, and how they are related to the possum. I know more about the male anatomy of a kangaroo than I ever wanted to know. For male readers, heads up. Flannery will urge you to trace your own male anatomy for evidence of ancestral evolution of the scrotum before the penis. You’re welcome.
At the end of Chasing Kangaroos Flannery ends on a hopeful note, speculating that some species previously thought extinct might actually still be around.

As an aside, I had to laugh at the mention of a mass spectrometer. I know what one looks like and how it functions, thanks to watching a true crime science show. I also know that some carpets are trilobal in nature, but that is neither here nor there.

Author fact: Everyone mentions The Weather Makers (Flannery’s landmark bestseller), but I am reading Thowim’ Way Leg and The Explorers.

Book trivia: Chasing Kangaroos has a gorgeous section of color photographs of quokka, wallaby, euro, bettong, and of course kangaroos. The author makes it into a few photographs as well.

Setlist: “Ave Maria”, “O Sole Mio”, “Back to Sorrento”, Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best”, Al Jolson, “My Mammy”, and “The Old at Home”.

Nancy said: Pearl said that Chasing Kangaroos was one that she enjoyed the most.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the obvious chapter called “Australia, the Land of Oz (Nonfiction) (p 26).

Animals

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Gray, Ava. Animals: An Adult Coloring Book with Lions, Dogs, Horses, Elephants, Owls, Cats, and Many More! AvaGrayColoring, 2023.

Reason read: This was an interesting win from the Early Review Program for LibraryThing.

Reviewing a coloring book in e-format is a little strange. You don’t get a sense of how well the images are printed or the quality of the paper. Because you print images at home, those elements are dependent on the type of printer you have and the stock of paper you use. One element of Animals I didn’t like: the ability to “unlock” an $85 art activity collection for free. This seemed a little gimmicky to me.

In order of discovery, here are the details I liked about this coloring book:

  1. The zebra test page is a great idea. Test your colors on the stripes of this animal. You will end up with a rainbow beast.
  2. This is a coloring book that supports the adoption of animals. Good idea. Although, which rescue initiative receives the money is not exactly clear.
  3. Every animal you can think of is represented in Animals (and even some you didn’t think of, like water buffalo and meercat).
  4. The illustrations are gorgeous and fun. I could tell (for the most part) what each animal was supposed to be.

Bear

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Engel, Marian. Bear. McClelland and Stewart, 1976.

Reason read: October is Animal Month.

Lou, an archivist for an Institute is sent to a remote Ottawan island to catalog the estate of Colonel Joycelyn Cary. The institute has acquired the Pennarth Estate’s books, journals, and other ephemera. Admittedly, I had to go into this story with an extremely open mind. From everything I heard, the only detail that stuck out to me was that the protagonist has sexual feelings for, and tries to copulate with, a bear. Say what now? The second thing people said, as if to follow up on that statement, was that Engel writes in such a way that a relationship between a woman and a bear is totally plausible. My first indication of realism comes when, even though Lou and the bear have a growing friendship, Lou is constantly reminding herself he is a bear that weighs over 300 pounds with claws and teeth. Bears are predators that are attracted to the emanating odors of blood and fear. To be sure, the writing is beautiful. The treatment of women in society (in the 70s) is accurately articulated. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the fact that Lou’s choices for male companionship were so wretched that she had to settle for an animal. The end.

Author fact: Engel passed in 1985.

Book trivia: Bear is a ridiculously short book of less that 150 pages (at least my copy was).

Lines I liked, “It took the curse off his warnings about the bear” (p 75),

Playlist: “Old Black Joe”.

Nancy said: Pearl called Bear odd and strange and a gem. The cool thing is that she also mentioned it has been long out of print, but I was able to find it in a local library. Yay for public libraries!

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Animal Love” (p 13). I’d say.

Cat Who Came for Christmas

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Amory, Cleveland. The Cat Who Came for Christmas. Little, Brown and Company, 1987.

Reason read: December is the month for Christmas

Every December I look for a few books that are lighthearted and funny. The Cat Who Came for Christmas fit the bill for the most part, being both a memoir about a specific stray cat coming into Cleveland’s life and a didactic nonfiction containing interesting facts about cats. Here are a few examples: Cleveland delves into the theory of a cat having nine lives; he provides names of politicians and rulers who either loved or detested cats; he shares the dirty secrets of animals shelters, testing on animals (ouch), and price gouging of veterinarians. He shares stories of his work with animals rights organizations. It is not just a warm and fuzzy story about a cat named Polar Bear. But let’s be fair. Polar Bear is the star of the show. The full blown, complete sentence dialogues Cleveland would have with his cat are hysterical.
Cleveland is in good company of famous people who enjoyed cats: Mark Twain, Colette, Walter Cronkite, and Robert De Niro to name a few.

Quote to quote, “You do not, after all, have to walk a wife (p 6).

Author fact: Cleveland likes to drop names. He was good friends with Cary Grant and George C. Scott.

Book trivia: the advance praise for The Cat Who Came for Christmas is star-studded. Bea Arthur, Walter Cronkite, Norman Cousins, and even Doris Day all give a glowing review. See what I mean about the name dropping?

Nancy said: Pearl said many people enjoyed The Cat Who Came for Christmas.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Cat Crazy” (p 51).

The Rabbi’s Cat 2

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Sfar, Joann. The Rabbi’s Cat 2. Pantheon Books, 2008.

Reason read: to continue the series started in June in honor of cats.

At the end of The Rabbi’s Cat, the unnamed cat had lost the ability to be understood by humans. The affliction still remains in The Rabbi’s Cat 2. One might say Sfar’s message in The Rabbi’s Cat 2 is how to ask a question. How best do you respond to a growing hate? What is the best course of action to avoid or defuse it?
My favorite character, besides strong-willed Zlabya, was Malka of the Lions. He and his lion are traveling scammers. They travel from town to town saving villagers from the “ferocious” lion until one day the people are no longer afraid of the aging feline. Despite being elderly, Malka can still exude power. [When he delivers an open-handed slap to the mayor I was reminded me of Will Smith’s attack on Chris Rock at the Oscars.] The adventure doesn’t end there. There is this one snake who wants to bite someone. Anyone. Then the story takes an ominous turn when a seemingly dead Russian is found in a crate of books shipped to Zlabya’s husband.
Sfar attacks deeper subjects in The Rabbi’s Cat 2. The argument that art is forbidden; representation is prohibited: “Hey wait! You can kill each other after dinner. And in the meantime, we’d do well to talk quietly and see if it’s necessary” (p 102). Please do not miss Sfar’s subtle humor. The cat’s farts is hilarious.
The dedication right before “Part II Africa’s Jerusalem” made me think this section was intended to be a separate book.
And can we talk about the ending? It feels a little abrupt. I felt like it could have kept going.

Lines I loved, “A real friend tells you that your worries aren’t so bad, that you’ll be okay and you should make the most of each moment” (p 10) and “I love you because there has to be someone who loves you” (p 47). Couldn’t we all think that way?

Author fact: Sfar has written more Cat stories, but I am only reading two for the Challenge.

Nancy said: Pearl said if you are looking for a change of pace, read Sfar’s Cat books.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “North African Notes: Algeria” (p 158).

Rabbi’s Cat

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Sfar, Joann. The Rabbi’s Cat. Pantheon Book, 2005.

Rabbi’s Cat is a clever way of introducing Talmudic teaching…sort of like sneaking spinach into a burger to make it “healthier” (yeah, right). The philosophical arguments with a cat about God and love are pretty funny yet serious. To start from the beginning. A parrot annoyed a cat, so the cat ate the bird and gained the ability to speak and lie, not necessarily in that order. Even as a liar, the cat is a straight shooter, albeit a little sarcastic. The cat is also a true cat, randomly knocking over things, or walking on piano keys when you are trying to play, or sitting directly on the very book you are trying to read. But, remember, this cat can talk so it should be no surprise it is demanding a Bar Mitzvah. The rabbi needs to consult his rabbi on that one (although he doesn’t faze him to hear a cat speak). Thus begins the argument, what does it mean to have faith? Does what you practice define your level of spirituality? What about the differences between being a Jew or an Arab? I loved the argument between the cat and the donkey about the name ‘Sfar.’ Truly a clever book.

Great lines to quote, “He tells me that they don’t circumcise cats” (p 10), “You know, sometimes you kill just one person and it takes care of everything” (p 82), and “I love my master, too, it doesn’t mean I have to act like an electric fan” (p 128),

Author fact: Sfar won the Jury Prize for The Rabbi’s Cat.

Book trivia: The Rabbi’s Cat is a graphic novel and the illustrations express volumes (like being underwater and drowning to symbolize helplessness). Really cool designs.

Nancy said: Pearl recommended The Rabbi’s Cat “for a change of pace” (Book Lust To Go p 161).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “North African Notes: Algeria” (p 158).

Desiree

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Race, Peggy. Desiree: the Music of My Soul. Texas: Black Rose Writing, 2021.

Reason read: as a member of LibraryThing I review books for the Early Review program. This is the August 2021 selection.

There is no doubt in my mind Peggy Race has had her share of heartbreak. This is how one dog was able to mend her heart and put her on a path of purpose. Losing her second husband of only nine months to a freakish accident, Peggy was lost. Dogs became her lifeline. One dog in particular became her saving grace.
Confessional: this took me a really long time to read. The language is extremely flowery, for lack of a better way to describe it. The overuse of the word “as” became obsessively distracting. I became acutely aware of every time it was used as an adverb, conjunction, or preposition. It just seemed to be everywhere. Additionally, every sentence with “ing” as a suffix was equally distracting. There seem to be a formula to Race’s writing because “like” imagery was everywhere: “Like a film reel…” “Like the waters of Katrina…” “Like a blank chalkboard…” “Like a soundtrack of songs…” “Like a fresh coat of paint…” I could go on and on. I loved the story. I loved Peggy’s devotion to puppy mill dogs and her volunteerism brought me to tears at times. I just couldn’t synch with her writing style.

As an aside, I am addicted to a voyeuristic show called “Murder, Suicide, Accident.” Each episode is dedicated to a person’s questionable death. There is a certain formula to the show. Someone finds the body and from all outward appearances it looks like either a suicide or an accident. Enter the medical examiner, pathologist, and autopsy reports. Suggestable evidence points to something quite different happened. Experts agree something isn’t sitting well with the evidence. At the same time loved ones are interviewed and their words support a particular slant – “She was depressed and mentioned suicide to me.” “They were fighting a lot right before he died. She threatened to leave. The cops were called a few times.” “She was always getting hurt and was very accident prone.” The viewer starts to make judgements on the nature of death until there is a killer’s confession, suicide note, or irrefutable evidence pointing to an accident. Terry’s death could be featured on this show. Family would argue Terry was an expert rider. Would he work in a closed garage with a motorcycle running? Would he intentionally kill himself leaving his worldly belongings to an ex-girlfriend only nine months after marrying Peggy? Both of these actions seen short-sighted and slightly daft.

Playlist: “Thank God for Kids,” “God Bless the USA,” “I will Remember You,” “Have You Ever Been in Love,” “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

Author fact: Race has written other books about rescuing dogs.

Book trivia: there were no photographs in my copy of Desiree.

Line I hope is kept in the final publishing, “Plowing through the uncultivated boundaries of my heart, I managed the feelings that came with loss” (p 6). That is what you do, isn’t it? You keep charging through unrefined emotions, just trying to keep your sh!t together.

The Dog Next Door

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Robertson, Keith. The Dog Next Door. New York: Viking Press, 1950.

Reason read: April is National Dog Month. For the Portland Public Library Reading Challenge I needed a book with an animals in the title.

Thirteen year old Hal has wanted a dog all of his life. His neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, have never wanted a dog in their lives. Ever. Unfortunately, Mrs. Aylesworth, boxer breeder and sister to Mrs. Perkins, unceremoniously sends the Perkins a beautiful dog named Beau as a gift. So begins a dilemma with a seemingly easy fix: the Perkins should give Hal the dog. Right? Only, Hal’s parents think a dog would be too much responsibility for Hal and the Perkins, knowing Beau is a pure bred, think he could be sold for a lot of money (once they get over the guilt of selling a gift). Stalemate. As a consolation prize, Hal’s parents tell him he can build a treehouse in the back yard complete with a telescope. With the help of elderly boat builder and friend, Mr. Seward, Hal not only builds a shipshape treehouse, he develops a keen sense of responsibility. He watches helplessly as Beau, the new canine about town, is blamed for dog fights and attacks on community members. Beau is getting the reputation of being a vicious dog. Hal needs to set the record straight, but how?
The Dog Next Door was beautifully yet sparsely illustrated by Morgan Dennis. I wish there had been more illustrations.

Author fact: Robertson has written other books, but The Dog Next Door is the only one I am reading for the Book Lust Challenge.

Book trivia: This was a hard book to find. Not many libraries had it on their shelves. As an aside, my edition (published in 1950) had seen better days. It had pen marks, rips and holes.

Nancy said: Pearl mentioned The Dog Next Door when reminiscing about the books she used to read as a child. I have to admit, it was cool to hold a book old enough that my dad could have read the same copy. He would have been twelve years old and definitely interested in reading about a boy who longed for a boat and a dog of his own.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Great Dogs in Fiction” (p 104). Both Keith and the title of his book were left out of the index.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

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Lofting, Hugh. The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed. New York: Duke Classics, 2012.

Reason read: Confessional! This was a complete and utter mistake! Pearl said any of the Doctor Dolittle books would be good to read and the only one she specifically mentioned (twice) was The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. But! It was indexed as the title Doctor Dolittle. Oh well. This was a fun little read which ultimately introduced me to the good doctor.

I would like to have known a real Doctor Dolittle. I can just imagine his house with its goldfish, dogs, rabbits, cats, mice, squirrels, hedgehog, cows, chickens, pidgins, horse, lambs, duck, pig, parrot, and owl…to name a few. You would think all of these animals would get in the way of Doctor Dolittle taking care of human patients when in reality, he preferred the animals to the people. When he learned to communicate with his furry and feathered friends it was game over. He gave up trying to cure the two-legged folks and concentrated on his true friends.
It is pretty high praise to be compared to Lewis Carroll. Hugh Walpole does just that to Hugh Lofting in his introduction to The Story of Doctor Dolittle.

As an aside, I would like to think Hugh Lofting influenced twentieth century pop culture. Dave Matthews sings about a “monkey on a string” and Shel Silverstein told of a crocodile with a toothache. Can you see Dave and Shel sitting down with Doctor Dolittle? I can.

Line I liked a lot, “Dogs nearly always use their noses for asking questions” (p 23).

Author fact: Lofting wrote the Dolittle stories for his children while he was stationed overseas in the form of illustrated letters. He dedicated Dolittle to “all Children. Children in Years and Children in Heart.” Very sweet.

Nancy said: Pearl said nothing at all since she didn’t specifically put this book on her list.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Do in the chapter called “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (p 190). Since “Doctor Dolittle” was in the index not as a proper title, I corrected it to read The Story of Doctor Dolittle.

Bear Comes Home

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Zabor, Rafi. The Bear Comes Home. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1979.

Reason read: May is Music month.

In a nutshell:The Bear Comes Home is a story about a talking, walking, pants-wearing, saxophone-playing bear. Wrap your brain around that for a moment and then consider this: the bear is an avid reader, talks philosophy and emotionally and physically loves a woman. I knew from the inside flap this book was going to be an interesting read, especially when I read, “a vexed, physically passionate and anatomically correct inter-species love affair with a beautiful woman named Iris.” Um. Okay. It’s the “anatomically correct” piece that really puts it into perspective. But! Trust me when I say this is a deep book. I mean deeeep. Zabor is a little long winded when it comes to subjects he is passionate about. There are pages and page about jazz music and the musicians who perfected it, but somehow the entire thing works. The Bear is a little too angsty but considering his circumstances, stuck in the human world, who could blame him?

As an aside, I have two Natalie connections to this book. This time “Dancing Bear” from Leave Your Sleep (of course) and the mention of the song “But Not For Me” which Natalie has covered.
Another aside, I loved, loved, loved the musical references. Mention of Prince’s Black Album made me swoon (been missing him a lot lately).

Line to like, “It had to do with the heaviness of obsession” (p 363).

Author fact: Zabor is a musician as well as an author. Obviously.

Book trivia: Bear Comes Home features a few real life musicians. Obviously. Another piece of trivia: it won the PEN Faulkner award.

Nancy said: Pearl said Bear Comes Home is a “slightly different take on music in fiction” (Book Lust p 164).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Music and Musicians” (p 164).

Spring Pages

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I will be traveling for part of May so who knows how many books I’ll be able to read for this month. Here is the list I will attempt:

Fiction:

  • Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson – in honor of May being Wilson’s birth month.
  • Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs – in honor of Graphic Novel month being in May.
  • Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler – in honor of May is Museum Month.
  • Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor- in honor of May being Music Month.
  • Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters – in honor of the first Thursday in May being Prayer Week.
  • Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian – in honor of my father’s birth month. As a kid he read this book.
  • Five Children and It by E. Nesbit – in honor of May being Nesbit’s birth month.

Nonfiction:

  • Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen – in honor of Peary’s birth month being in May. From one explorer to another.

Series continuations:

  • Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov – to continue the series started in January in honor of Asimov’s birth month.
  • Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope – to continue the series started in honor of Trollope’s birth month in April.

February Falling Behind

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We are nearly one full week into February and I have yet to report what is on the reading list. I have to admit, my other (non-book) life got in the way. I was selected for jury duty for a trial that lasted three days, a friend was admitted to the hospital with atrial fibrillation for three days, an uncle was taken off hospice, and oh yeah, I turned fifty with my family and friends in attendance. The last week of January going into the first week of February was all a bit nutty. And. And! And, I am running again. So, there’s that. But enough of that. Here are the books:

Fiction: 

  • Good Night Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning by Alice Walker (EB)- in honor of Walker’s birth month.
  • Take This Man by Frederick Busch (EB & print) – in memory of Busch’s death month.
  • Crossers by Philip Caputo (EB & print) – in honor of Arizona becoming a state in February.
  • Alone in the Crowd by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza (EB & print) – in honor of Brazil’s festival.

Nonfiction:

  • Tragic Honesty by Blake Bailey (print) in honor of Yates’s birthday.
  • Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner (AB) in honor of February being Feed the Birds Month.

Series Continuations:

  • A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King (EB & print) – to continue the series started in honor of January being Mystery Month.
  • Caprice and Rondo by Dorothy Dunnett (print) – to continue the series started in honor of Dunnett’s birth month being in August.
  • Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov (EB) – in honor of Asimov’s birth month being in January.
  • A Fine and Bitter Snow by Dana Stabenow (EB & print) – to continue the series started in January in honor of Alaska becoming a state.

Early Review for LibraryThing:

  • How to Be a Patient by Dr. Sana Goldberg (confessional: I started this in January and haven’t finished it yet).

For Fun:

  • Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.

Joey Goes to Sea

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Villiers, Alan. Joey Goes to Sea. Mystic, CT: Mystic Seaport, 2014.

Reason read: a gift from my aunt Jennifer and because I love cats.

This is such a cute story and the fact that is is based on true events makes it even more special. Joey is a little ginger kitten who went to sea aboard the Joseph Conrad with author Alan Villiers. According to Villiers, the events in the story are real. Joey caught flying fish, fought with a bird, and really did fall overboard!
The illustrations are wonderful, too.