The Cat With Seven Names
PreS-Gr 4–In a quiet but busy neighborhood, six lonely people welcome a large, fat cat into their lives, each giving the feline a different name and enjoying his company for a while. There is a librarian who loves to read (she names the cat Stuart Little), an old man with a walker, a Latino man and his dog, a policewoman, a homeless ex-soldier, and a mother and her daughter who are new to the area. One day, when a car almost hits the cat, all of his friends run out of their apartments in alarm. The driver turns out to be his owner, who has been searching for him, and everyone begins to talk to her and to one another–discovering the beginnings of new friendships. The ink and colored-pencil illustrations help tell the tale beautifully, introducing the people and their living spaces and creating an indelible portrait of an endearing and very happy fat cat. The text is perfect, letting these neighbors tell their stories about the animal on two spreads each.This book is a true delight for individual sharing. There is a great deal going on in the neighborhood that is told only through the pictures as children look out windows and doors and closely examine the endpapers. At the very beginning, these neighbors are pictured going their separate ways but by the end they are talking and interacting, as the cat looks on smugly. This is a lovely book with a gentle lesson.–Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LAα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.