This was another recommendation from Katie - and another great book!
This is the story of a cat who is adopted (or adopts) a library in a small Iowa town. Actually, for the area, Spencer, Iowa is quite the large town. But in comparison to the rest of the US, not a bustling metropolis. Anyway, the author was the library director of the Spencer Public Library who found the kitten in the book return bin on a cold January morning. The kitten was in bad shape, but survived and thrived.
The cat, eventually named Dewey Readmore Books, became a fixture of this struggling town library. This farming community was struggling in the 1980's and Dewey seemed to bring people together. He also helped the author, the library director who found him. Vicki Myron was having her own struggles as a single mother who battled serious health problems. Although the entire library owned Dewey (although no library funds were ever spent for his care - employees and library patrons subsidized his care), she considered herself his "mother" and shared a special relationship with him.
Dewey became known throughout the world. People would come from all over to see this cat. He was a rare breed of cat who was social and able to live in a public place. His death of old age, after living quite the charmed life among the books and shelves, was mourned all over.
I'll admit, this book was a bit hokey. But that is to be expected. It is still a warm hearted story of hope. I recommend it - especially if you're feeling a bit down!
