A long time ago...about 27 years, I think...I was trying to help my #1🌞 read a book called The Fire Cat.
About a week ago I discovered--completely by accident--that New York Review Books, which is one of my favorite publishers, has a children's line. So I was having a look at their list of publications, and I spotted a book called The School For Cats. Well, they had me already, but then when I saw that the cover featured a drawing of a Black Cat which looked a lot like my Black Cat...
...I knew I'd have to read that book soon.
And fortunately for me, the branch library just down the street from me had a copy. So I picked it up. When I did, I saw that there were several other of these Black Cat stories. I was tempted to scoop them all up, but decided not to be greedy. Besides, maybe I wouldn't like The School For Cats. Heck, maybe I wouldn't even get around to reading it. (That happens a lot, after all.)
But I got home and started reading it. And then I didn't stop until I'd finished.
Admittedly it wasn't a long book, but that's not what keep me at it. It was...amusing. And different from other Kid Books. At one point in the story, an ornery cat (named Pickles) gets in his little fire engine and chases the Black Cat up a chimney. There are a couple of things you don't read every day.
So of course I decided to read more of these books. I looked up the author--one Esther Averill--and found that there were quite a few of them:
The School for Cats, 1947
Jenny's First Party, 1948
Jenny's Moonlight Adventure, 1949
When Jenny Lost Her Scarf, 1951
Jenny's Adopted Brothers, 1952
How the Brothers Joined the Cat Club, 1953
Jenny's Birthday Book, 1954
Jenny Goes to Sea, 1957
Jenny's Bedside Book, 1959
The Hotel Cat, 1969
Captains of the City Streets, 1972
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