Clever Cat
"Every morning Tibs waited by his front door. And waited... And  waited... And waited... And waited..." until finally someone notices him and  begrudgingly lets him inside, where he has to wait some more before getting his  breakfast. Things proceed in this manner for a long time, until finally one day  the orange tabby becomes fed up with all this waiting around. Much to his human  family's astonishment, he climbs to the cupboard, gets down his own cat food,  and opens the can with a can opener. Impressed (and somewhat relieved), the Ford  family soon gives Tibs carte blanche around town. He shops with the family  credit card, hangs out in cafés, goes to movies, plays tennis--until the  Fords get their monthly bank statement. It's time for Tibs to earn his keep. And  suddenly, Tibs isn't sure his cleverness is such a boon after all.Feline fans--especially older ones--will laugh out loud at this  not-so-hard-to-believe fantasy. Most cat owners have wondered at times just how helpless Fluffy  really is. Peter Collington's adroitness matches that of Tibs, especially in his  priceless illustrations of the cat opening his first can, and strolling by the  "less gifted" cats on the stoop. (Ages 6 and older)--Emilie Coulter