Podróże z moją kotką
Subtitle: i inne opowieści o kotach, psach, papugach, oposach i króliku
By: Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm.
Publisher: Nowy Świat
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Warszawa
Language: pol
Number of pages: 255
First sentence: WSTEP

    Ksiazke te kieruje do wszystkich milosników zwierzat, a szczególnie do wielbicieli kotów. Przez wiele lat o kotach slyszalam rózne nieprzyjemne opowiesci, o ich obojetnosci, zazdrosci, nawet msciwosci. Spotkanie Suzy, zetkniecie sie z jej osobowoscia, jakby mnie wiec zaskoczylo. W niedlugim czasie stala sie czlonkiem naszej rodziny i wniosla do niej element swojej indywidualnosci. Chetnie mówilam o niej i pisalam w listach do przyjaciól i znajomych dzielac sie swoimi obserwacjami. Wreszcie postanowilam napisac ksiazke i w niej podzielic sie swoimi obserwacjami. Pisze o okresie ostatnich lat, kiedy w moje i mojego meza zycie wkroczylo male kocie i jak nam zmienilo swiat. Z zalozenia nie rozwodze sie na temat klopotów czy trosk wokól nas, pisze tylko o sprawach i ludziach zwiazanych z moja kotka, a takze niemalo miejsca poswiecam psom, papugom, oposom i królikom. W drugiej czesci dolaczam opowiesci tych osób, które zechcialy sie ze mna podzielic swoimi czesto bardzo osobistymi przezyciami. 
    Chcialabym, aby ta ksiazka pokazala, jak wiele dobrego zwierzeta wnosza w nasze zycie. Aby pomogla docenic, jak pomagaja nam wspólnie przejsc przez codzienne dobre i gorsze dni, i jak soba ubogacaja swiat wokól nas. Chcialabym takze, by w czasie lektury opowiesci nie tylko o kotce Suzy, kazdemu czytajacemu  zrobilo sie przyjemniej i weselej.
Description: The book appeared on the PUBLISHER BESTSELLER list as Nr 2 –for the year of 2002 and 2003   


Book was chosen the BOOK OF THE WEEK by bookstores all over Poland (23-20 December 2002).





FRAGMENTS  OF  REVIEWS:

 “(...)Not only am I under cat’s magic, but recently in the bookstores Nowy Swiat presented the book written by Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm. That eminent writer and reporter, now living in the USA, has written over 250 pages dedicated to animals, particularly to cats. What a wonderful book! It is full of wisdom and fun and close to some metaphysics in analyzing interpersonal relationships between people and animals. The people who share a love for animals, are like a garden of similar beautiful human beings, sharing in the beauty of the whole world of living creatures. Animal brothers are our relatives. It is not difficult to understand and follow.
Cats have special mystery and mystic around themselves. They go their own way, follow their own paths, more than dogs. Independent from people, they live the way they like. They love the night more than the day, they can be critical, moody… and those are the reasons that some people believe that cats are not faithful and haughty, but superior. It is not true! The contact with cats is very different than with dogs, more intellectual. (…) Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm in the second part of the book includes cat’s stories from her friends and acquaintances. What a gallery! One cat loved to listen to a violin quartet, the other loved to take a snooze on freshly washed and dried laundry, and the cat of an actress from Krakow has a party for his birthday , the people bring him presents, and he with some disdain looks at everybody.(…)”.
Leszek Zulinski, Le chat fatal, Trybuna, 06-12-2002


“The newest book written by Aleksandra Ziólkowska-Boehm, who for more than 10 years now has lived in the USA. “Travels with my cat” reminds me of the famous book by Graham Green “Travels with my aunt”. Greene shows the London snob, whose aunt makes him more human by taking him into new avenues of adventures and surprises, and about a world he never knew existed. In Ziólkowska’s book, the story of the cat who received the name Suzy opens to the writer a new world she hadn’t known, giving new sensitivity, appreciation and observation of beauty surrounding life and world .(…) The book shows other stories about dogs, cats, parrots and opossums and rabbits, but mainly it is about cats. It’s a chronic of days when people open their lives to a new animal and to their different outlook and personality. The chronic is full of drama, lost and found cats, and misunderstandings, happy returns, moving to new homes and new cities and even final goodbyes. I promise that none will finish the story about Latik with a dry eye. The instruction about how to give a pill to a cat can be included as one of the most funny stories written about cats.(…)”.
Gwidon Znajco, Kociopolacy, Nowe książki Nr 1, 2003


“The Cat who enters into literature
Suzy, the heroine of the book, is a chocolate-black beauty from Texas with charm who jumps into literature. (…) Someone said that the world is divided into cat and dog lovers, Aleksandra Ziólkowska-Boehm is known from her book as a lover of all animals.
The accomplished writer who has written many books dedicated to historical and eminent problems, now writes 250 pages dedicated to Suzy, Tuffy, Kubus, etc.(...).The book shows the American and Polish cats, about those who have owners, and about strays. The book is also about the people –how they react to each other, and to other animals.
-When the people brag about their children, they make each other jealous and unhappy; when they talk with pride and joy about their animals, everyone listens with a smile and immediately shares their own stories.
Aleksandra Ziólkowska-Boehm has her own unique style. She has a way of showing the details, names, facts, so the world she writes about is real and leaves a permanent impression in our minds and hearts. None can stop reading the book until they finish. And everyone feels happy during the reading and thereafter. The book makes people happier and more joyful.”.
Anna Bernat, Zycie, Warszawa, November 15, 2002

„(...)Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm writes about every day events of life with her cat Suzy, about trips in the US and to Poland, also about Suzy’s kittens and other cats. She also writes about other animals that were living in her house, whom she took care of, or whom she met in different circumstances. In the second part of the book, there are stories written by other people about their cats. In the end, there is a beautiful poem written by the Nobel prize winner, Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska “The cat in the empty house”.
The book shows how true friendship can be built between animals and people. We all are created by the same God; we are all inhabitants of the same globe.”. 
Ewa Hellenska, "Cats", NOWINY, January 2003


“The cat is the creation that probably is the most wonderful deed of the Creator”, these words can be a motto for this beautiful book”. 
Janina Podolska, GAZETA WYBORCZA, Lodz, November 13  2002


(...)”The wish of the authoress is that everyone who reads the book would feel happier and contented. This is a very sympatic book and makes peoples’ souls fly. (…) Suzy is a great traveler, she flys by plane to Poland, she accompanies Ziolkowska-Boehm and her husband on trips in the States. She likes her escapades; they are better then a cat’s kennel. Suzy seems to be a cat with a great experience and knowledge of the world”      
Maja E.Cybulska „About Cats”,  TYGODNIK POLSKI, London, England, March 8, 2003


„Travels with my Cat” is a book enriched with care, good feelings and love towards all our “smaller brothers”. The authoress writes mainly about cats, but also about dogs, parrots and other animals. She shows how to understand that animals are our true friends, and that they are so helpless in the modern world cruelly taken over by people” (...).
Renata Fijalkowska  WEGETERIANSKI SWIAT  Nr 12 (83) December 2002


„Suzy has big amber eyes and chocolate color with a gold flair. She is the main character of the book “Travels with my cat” by Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm. When the authoress took care of a stray cat, she didn’t know much about cats, but now, she is a great admirer and has a good knowledge of them. The book is filled with touching and funny stories about cats other than Suzy and animals, like dogs, opossums, parrots and rabbits”.
„Kocie opowiesci”, GAZETA POMORSKA, Bydgoszcz, January 18/19,  2003

„The authoress draws multicultural feline-people relationships that take place in the USA, in Europe, in Texas, Delaware, New York, London, Torun and Jazgarzewo… Beside cats and people and very objective stories about them, there are also tales about other animals that don’t speak the human voice – dogs and parrots.  The animals are partners and friends, although the writer tries not to anthropomorphise them. They don’t possess, as in fairy tales about animals, the human virtues and weaknesses. Those in “Travels with my cat“ are always cats or dogs and as cats and dogs, are respected by the authoress. Sometimes we feel in a very agreeable way, that owners of the animals are changing character to be more like the animals taking on their more admirable attributes such as intelligence, courage and tolerance of four legged creatures. The humans take a good example from them.  From city loving inhabitants, they change into country loving people, from malcontents – into happy people contented with everyday blessings. Providing happiness and contentment is another wonderful virtue of this warm – but not in a sentimental way – book. The world in which people live together with animals is probably the best of the world.
I assure everyone reading the book will be happier, as the authoress wanted.”
Joanna Rostropowicz-Clark „About Cats (and dogs) in different way”, NOWY DZIENNIK, (New York) May 9, 2003”
Notes: LC copy signed by the author.
Cover design: Tomasz Tomczyk (Thomas Tomczyk).