[book_talk] book review - Myron and Witter
- From: "Bonnie L. Sherrell" <blslarner@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Blind Book Lovers Cafe" <bblc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Blind Chit Chat" <Blind-Chit-Chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Book Talk" <book_talk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Books for the Blind" <Books4theblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 08:23:33 -0800
_Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World_
by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
From the moment Vicki Myron and her assistant at the Spenser Public
Library heard the noise in the book return box, they realized that
things must be different from now on. Somehow an orange tabby kitten
had gotten into the box along with the many books returned the previous
evening, a poor freezing and starving thing that nevertheless managed
to capture the sympathy of both women. Soon Dewey was a fixture in the
library in spite of some opposition from board members and the public,
the official library cat of Spenser, Iowa.
The story of the cat named Dewey Readmore Books and his eighteen-plus
years in the Spenser Public Library is heartwarming, and I cannot give
it justice, I find, in a short review. Dewey swiftly became a
celebrity, and in time people literally came from all over the world to
meet him. Dewey had the capability of connecting personally with every
person who walked in through those library doors, making each feel
special, making each one feel as if she or he had a unique personal
relationship with this most unique of cats. He had such an influence
on the town of Spenser that since his death the town has not agreed to
take on another library cat, certain no other cat could adequately take
his place. I laughed and nodded my head and shook it and was tempted
to weep in places as well the whole time I read this book, and I will
never regret having read it. It's a book I highly recommend, and I'm
certain most other people will enjoy it as much as I do.
I found this book at Goodwill in print a year ago, and I finally sat
down and read it this past week. I had read of Dewey in articles in a
few magazines, including the Readers Digest, several times over the
nearly two decades of his residency in the Spenser Public Library, and
it was very enlightening to read this, his official biography written
by the woman who knew him best. She has since published a second book
entitled _Dewey's Nine Lives_ that I've not encountered as yet but that
I will undoubtedly now search for. I suspect that due to the subject
matter and popularity of this book that it is available in accessible
media.
Bonnie L. Sherrell
Teacher at Large
"Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise
cannot see all ends." LOTR
"Don't go where I can't follow."
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