Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd ; Hard Cover, Picture Book ; Recommended

Not My Cat

It’s all about the power of a cat to worm its way into our lives whether we like it or not. The narrator professes to not like cats, and when one starts coming around every day, she says she doesn’t like it, even though she gives it food, and she names it Not My Cat so that every knows it’s not her cat. She says she doesn’t know where the cat lives, or what it does at night, even though she wonders about it sometimes. But when Not My Cat doesn’t show up for several days in a row, she’s worried, and all her normal routines feel empty. When she does return, our narrator doesn’t know where she’s been, but she know she looks hungry and curious, and she looks like she’s hers. The logical, responsible pet owner in me wishes there was some sort of little afterward to comment that now she’s claimed the cat it will mean taking her to the vet and keeping track of where she is because there are so many dangers for cats left to stray, but the mushy side of me just feels warm and fuzzy, which is what the kids will feel.