Dewey by Vicki Myron

Dewey by Vicki Myron
ISBN: 9780-446-40741-0
Pages: 271
Inside Flap Description:

How much of an impact can an animal have? How many lives can one cat touch? How is it possible for an abandoned kitten to transform a small library, save a classic American town, and eventually become famous around the world? You can't even begin to answer those questions until you hear the charming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. he was found the next morning by library director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, and humility (for a cat, and above all, his sixth sense about who needed him most.

As his fame grew from town to town, then state to state, and finally, amazingly, worldwide, Dewey became more than just a friend; he became a source of pride for an extraordinary Heartland farming town pulling its way slowly back from the greatest crisis in its long history.

My Rating: A

My Review:
This was a great book. I struggled with the first few chapters, not because it was slow, but because the author seemed to sum up how Dewey affected everyone, which was the same, at the end of each of those first few chapters. Once that was done though, I found myself enthralled not just in Dewey's life and character, but in Vicki's and the townspeople.

I have to say, I wasn't surprised, or really affected by how Dewey's popularity grew, but I think that's because I have grown up in a time when the fact that a squirrel can do a trick makes the nightly news because there has to be at least one thing on that doesn't make you want to hang yourself. The only piece of fame that made me really react was the fact that Dewey's story was told on "The Rest of the Story" which I enjoyed when I was a kid.

This is a heartwarming book, that will break your heart for the characters and then cause pride in their triumphs. I highly recommend it to all animal lovers and those who liked the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.